JOBS DATA LIKELY BY
MONTH-END: OFFICIALS
The controversial jobs data of the National Sample Survey
Office (NSSO) is likely to be released by the end of the month after the entire
data set is examined by an expert panel, officials aware of the move said on
Friday. Last month, the government had disputed a report which pegged the
unemployment rate at a 45-year high, calling it premature. The government's
think tank, NITI Aayog, had then said it was a draft report and not final. NITI
Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar had said that the government would release the
final report in March. It is quite likely that the report will be released by
the end of the month, an official told. Without giving any release date, the
official said the draft report was now being examined by a standing committee A
panel of experts had earlier vetted the report and had arrived at the opinion
that the methodology needs to be further examined.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
RESERVE BANK OF INDIA
BACKS FINANCE MINISTRY ON DEBT RECAST PLAN
The RBI told the Supreme Court that the inter-creditor
agreement (ICA) aimed at helping debt defaulters avoid bankruptcy proceedings
requires the approval of 66% of lenders and not all of them, backing the plan
that had been drawn up at the behest of the finance ministry. Rakesh Dwivedi,
senior advocate appearing on behalf of the RBI, clarified that after execution
of ICA, all lenders in a consortium don’t have to approve it The RBI also told
the SC that banks could have continued with various resolution processes that
were being discussed before February 12 last year, when a circular issued by
the regulator had scrapped such mechanisms. This seems to contrast with the
RBI’s previous stand in cases in the Allahabad and Madras high courts. The
Centre said it was seeking to resolve the financial woes that ail the power
sector and took a firm stand on excluding stressed plants from the RBI
circular. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta argued that if this requires striking
down the circular, then so be it. In the Allahabad High Court case, the
government had said that such entities should not be categorised as stressed in
90 days and that the deadline of 180 days to resolve a bad loan be extended to
270 days. The ICA comes into play during the 180-day period and the 66%
threshold is meant to ensure that smaller lenders don’t stall such plans. The
notification had been legally challenged, with several borrowers and especially
the Association of Power Producers terming it impractical and too harsh. The
central bank has previously defended the circular, saying it would improve the
trust between counterparties in a transaction. The circular compelled lenders
to identify stress in the loan accounts without delay, it said.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
RBI ISSUES GUIDELINES TO
PREVENT MARKET ABUSE
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Friday came out with
guidelines to prevent misuse of price-sensitive information by participants in
markets for financial instruments. Market participants, either acting
independently or in collusion, shall not undertake any action with the
intention to manipulate the calculation of a benchmark rate or a reference
rate, the RBI said in a notification. Also, no market participant would carry
out a transaction or initiate any action with the sole or dominant intention of
influencing a benchmark rate or a reference rate. About regulatory action on
market abuse, the RBI said market participants indulging in any such activity
are liable to be denied access to markets in one or more instruments for a
period that may not exceed one month at a time. The guidelines became effective
on Friday. These directions, the RBI added, would exclude transactions executed
through the recognised stock exchanges. Further, the directions would not apply
to banks and the central government in furtherance of monetary policy, fiscal
policy or other public policy objectives.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
RBI GOVERNOR SHAKTIKANTA
DAS HEADED PANEL OF REGULATORS DISCUSS ISSUES CONCERNING ECONOMY
Financial sector regulators Thursday discussed ways to address
challenges pertaining to the quality of credit ratings and other issues
concerning the economy, the Reserve Bank of India said in a statement. Markets
regulator Sebi, insurance regulator Irdai, and pension fund regulator PFRDA,
along with senior officials of the finance ministry, brainstormed key issues
facing the economy at the meeting of the sub-committee of the Financial
Stability and Development Council (FSDC) chaired by RBI Governor Shaktikanta
Das. The sub-committee reviewed the major developments on the global and
domestic fronts that impinge on the financial stability of the country, the
central bank said after the meeting. The panel discussed ways to address
challenges pertaining to the quality of credit ratings; and inter-linkages
between housing finance companies and housing developers. It also deliberated
on the interlinking of various regulatory databases and the National Strategy
for Financial Inclusion. Further, the sub-committee reviewed the functioning of
state-level coordination committee (SLCCs) in various states and Union
territories, activities of its various technical groups, and a thematic study
on financial inclusion and financial stability.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
BANDHAN BANK GETS RBI NOD
FOR THE PROPOSED ACQUISITION OF GRUH FINANCE
Bandhan Bank on Friday said it has received no objection from
the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the proposed acquisition of Gruh Finance. The
Reserve Bank has by its letter dated 14 March, 2019, conveyed its no objection
for the voluntary amalgamation of Gruh Finance Ltd into and with Bandhan Bank,
subject to compliance with the terms and conditions therein, the bank said in a
regulatory filing. As part of the deal, Bandhan Bank has to transfer 14.9
percent stake to HDFC for merging Gruh with itself.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
ALLAHABAD BANK AIMS TO
RAISE UP TO ₹600 CR VIA SALE OF NON-CORE ASSETS
Allahabad Bank, which recently came out of the Prompt
Corrective Action (PCA) framework of the Reserve Bank of India, is planning to
raise ₹500-600 crore through sale of non-core assets next fiscal. According
to SS Mallikarjuna Rao, MD and CEO, the bank is hopeful of raising ₹200-300
crore through stake-dilution in its insurance venture, Universal Sompo General
Insurance. While Allahabad Bank holds 28.52 per cent equity stake, IOB holds
18.06 per cent, Sompo Japan 34.6 per cent, Karnataka Bank 6.02 per cent, and
Dabur Investment Corporation 12.8 per cent stake in the venture. We have
appointed a consultant for valuation. We are waiting for the March figures (for
the insurance venture), so that it can be taken into consideration for
valuation, said Rao. The bank is also looking to raise close to ₹300
crore through sale of land and properties. It has identified 11-12 properties,
of which, three to four are in Mumbai, and the remaining across Lucknow,
Jhansi, and other cities. Allahabad Bank had recently received a fund infusion
of ₹6,896 crore from the government. This was utilised to make
loan-loss provision to bring down the net NPA ratio and also to shore up its
capital base. While the capital infused is enough to take care of its
regulatory requirements, it might have to raise some capital to fund its growth
needs, he pointed out. The bank is expecting to grow its advances by 8-10 per
cent in FY20.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
DISINVESTMENT TARGET
WITHIN REACH: CENTRE
The government expects to meet its disinvestment target of ₹80,000
crore even though it has achieved only ₹56,473.42 crore so far
with only 15 days left for the end of the financial year, according to a senior
official in the Finance Ministry. The government hopes that the Power Finance
Corporation’s (PFC) acquisition of the Rural Electrification Corporation (REC),
expected to be completed ‘soon’, would push disinvestment proceeds above the
target. In addition, the ongoing Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Mini Ratna
company MSTC is also expected to earn more than ₹1,000 crore. We are of the
hope that the target is still within reach, the official said on the condition
of anonymity, as the government cannot make formal announcements under the
Election Commission’s Model Code of Conduct in the run-up to the general elections.
The last few months have seen collections pick up, especially due to the
Bharat-22 ETF, and the sale of the SUUTI stake in Axis Bank. The government
collected over ₹10,000 crore from the Bharat-22 ETF sale in February, and
another ₹5,378.66 crore from the sale of Specified Undertaking of Unit
Trust of India (SUUTI) stake in Axis Bank. So far, the government has collected
a total of ₹56,473.42 crore from disinvestments and stake sales. It
retained the target of ₹80,000 crore for the current financial year and set a target
of ₹90,000 crore for the next year. Ratings agencies, however,
feel that the government would miss its disinvestment target for the current
year. Care Ratings predicted that the volatility in the financial markets would
result in the government collecting only ₹60,000 crore this year.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
EXPERTS' GROUP ASKS GOVT
TO WITHDRAW CHANGES IN INTERMEDIARY GUIDELINES
A global coalition of 31 civil society and technology experts
on Friday wrote to the Prime Minister's Office, asking that a set of proposed
changes seeking to regulate online platforms be withdrawn by the government. In
a joint letter to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
(MeitY), the coalition asked the government to withdraw the draft amendments
proposed to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules. As
published, the draft amendments would erode digital security and undermine the
exercise of human rights globally, the coalition said in its letter. In
December, MeitY had proposed changes to Section 79 of the Information
Technology Act, 2000 and asked for public comments on the draft amendments that
seek to regulate a set of companies that qualify as intermediaries. The
proposed amendments have asked for, among other things, that the intermediary
trace the origin of a fake message. This would mean platforms like WhatsApp
would have to weaken their encryption and undermine user privacy.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
FINTECH SECTOR CAN'T
DELIVER IF DATA IS KEPT PERSONAL: FINANCE SECY GARG
It will not be possible for the digital and fintech industry
to deliver its services if financial data is kept personal said Subhash Chandra
Garg. He added that the Supreme Court's Aadhar judgement was a setback for the
fintech and digital space. The government recognises the importance of fintech
and had constituted a working group to closely look at all aspects of the
fintech industry. There are 48-50 recommendations by the group which are
succinct and cover all direct and indirect aspects related to fintech, said
Garg adding that the report will be released soon. Garg also stressed on the
importance of regulation and said RBI is doing a good job and opening itself
up. He said Aadhar was an advantage to the industry, but taking it away may not
help the sector. The Supreme Court judgement last year barred private companies
from using Aadhar for electronic verification, forcing banks and fintech firms
to turn to physical verification to onboard customers. He added that the
country has a baggage where financial information is treated as personal and
that the conflict of balancing data use and data privacy is a global issue. He
said that the focus should be on a data protection and usage bill instead of a
data protection bill. A draft data protection bill was published on the website
of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, based on recommendations
by a committee headed by Justice BN Srikrishna. He said that it was necessary
to solve the data privacy conflict in a satisfactory manner It is necessary to
reach a workable compromise where data is available to the industry but the
personal identity of an individual is not compromised. Garg said that the
fintech and digital industry runs on data and if we don't allow them to use the
data it would be like missing out on 'big oil'. He also said that customers
share data with banks but are wary of sharing the same with Fintech companies.
He said that it is necessary to also bring in safety precautions for data
sharing to fintech companies as they exist for banks.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
NITI AYOG’S AMITABH KANT
WARNS AGAINST BIGGEST THREAT TO INDIA’S DEMOGRAPHIC DIVIDEND
Threat to employment due to technological advancement must be
adequately addressed in time, else it can have disastrous repercussions on the
country’s future generations, warns NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant. He says that
more than half the Indian population lies below 25 years of age and each year
an increasing proportion of young adults will be added to the workforce. By
estimates of the labour ministry, this would amount to an increment of over 10
million people each year As per the UN data on world population, the working
age population – that is, those between the ages of 15 and 64 – will continue
to expand until 2050, he says. In case this burgeoning section of the
population is not provided with adequate employment opportunities, India would
fail to cash in on a rare opportunity of a demographic dividend, he warns. According
to Kant, if the threat to employment is not immediately addressed it can have
serious repercussions on India’s future generations. This has a lot to do with
India’s nascent demography, he writes. According to Kant, the conjunction of
the prospect of loss in employment due to automation and a young demography
looking for jobs might be the biggest challenge that India faces today.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
NOW, WITHDRAW CASH FROM
ATMS WITHOUT A CARD
SBI has introduced a facility that allows customers to
withdraw cash from ATMs without a card YONO Cash can be used to withdraw cash
at over 16,500 SBI ATMs across the country. SBI is the first bank to offer this
service in India. The ATMs enabled for this service will also be termed as YONO
Cash Point. Customers can initiate the cash withdrawal process on the YONO app
and set a six digit YONO Cash pin for the transaction. They will also get a six
digit reference number for the transaction on their registered mobile number
via SMS. The cash withdrawal has to be completed within the next 30 minutes at
the nearest YONO Cash point using both PIN and the reference number received. Rajnish
Kumar said, YONO Cash will also address the concern of using debit card at the
ATMs for cash withdrawals by eliminating possible risk associated with it. This
feature is designed to help users withdraw cash without a physical debit card.
Our endeavour is to create a digital universe by integrating the entire
transactions ecosystem under one platform.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
RBI CATEGORISES IDBI AS A
PRIVATE BANK
Debt-ridden IDBI Bank has been categorised as a private sector
bank by the Reserve Bank of India, with effect from January 21, 2019. The move
comes following the acquisition by Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).
In a circular, the central bank said that IDBI Bank has been categorised as a
‘Private Sector Bank’ for regulatory purposes by Reserve Bank of India with
effect from January 21, 2019 consequent upon LIC acquiring 51 per cent of the
total paid-up equity share capital of the bank. In another release, the RBI
said the State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank will continue to be identified
as Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs). D-SIB means that a bank is
'too big to fail'. The Reserve Bank had issued the framework for dealing with
D-SIBs on July 22, 2014. The framework requires the central bank to disclose
the names of banks designated as D-SIBs starting from 2015 and place these
banks in appropriate buckets depending upon their Systemic Importance Scores
(SISs).
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
INDIA TO ACHIEVE $330 BN
RECORD EXPORTS THIS FISCAL: COMMERCE SECY ANUP WADHAWAN
Notwithstanding global challenges like protectionist measures
by some countries, India is projected to achieve all- time record exports of
$330 billion in fiscal 2018-19 with a major contribution coming from the
engineering sector, Commerce Secretary Mr Anup Wadhawan said. This year has
been particularly good for us. The Commerce Secretary said the engineering
exports have grown significantly in recent years, notwithstanding major global
challenges. From global financial crisis of 2008-2009 onwards, India’s
exporters have faced several challenges including several recent unilateral
protectionist efforts by various countries. However, conducive government
policies have propelled the engineering sector exports. Ravi Sehgal said that
engineering exports in the financial year 2018-19 are expected to be between
$80-82 billion. We could have done $85 billion if we had basic raw material of
steel at affordable prices. Commerce Secretary assured the engineering
exporters of looking into how best the government can help for easy and
affordable availability of steel. A similar assurance also came from the
Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu in his video conference message.
Wadhawan also advised exporters to better utilise the existing Free Trade
Agreements to boost exports in ASEAN and other countries with similar
arrangement. The data shows that Indian exporters have not been very good users
of FTA preferential benefits that India has negotiated with partner countries.
We have carried out a large number of trade facilitation measures in the last
four and half years and are in the process of streamlining our processes
further. I urge our member exporters to use the tariff preferences provided in
the FTAs to enhance their market presence globally.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
NITI AAYOG CEO AMITABH
KANT TO HEAD TRANSFORMATIVE MOBILITY PANEL
Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant will head the National Mission on
Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage, which is being set up to promote
clean and sustainable mobility initiatives in the country. The terms of
reference of mission includes ensuring implementation and compliance of the
decisions and recommendations of the steering committee. The panel will also
propose and recommend policy guidelines and government interventions and
possible strategies for holistic, sustainable and transformative mobility and
energy storage in India.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
‘REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON
FINTECH RELATED ISSUES WILL BE OUT SOON’
The report of the committee on fintech related issues is
likely to be made public soon Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg said on
Thursday. The recommendations of the steering group have been finalised. It has
made 48-50 specific and succinct recommendations. The report will be announced
soon, Garg said. The Finance Ministry had, in March last year, set up the
eight-member steering committee led by Garg, who is also the Economic Affairs
Secretary, to consider various issues relating to development of fintech space
and how it can help in financial inclusion. He further said the government is
keen to work with the fintech sector and while there has been much advancement
in the payments sector, there is still scope for a lot of growth in sectors
such as pension and credit delivery. Noting that the Supreme Court judgment on
Aadhaar has impacted the fintech sector, he said the government is trying to
work out a solution where data is available to the industry without
compromising on the personal and private information of individuals. There has
been an attempt to bring personal data protection law for privacy. There is a
conflict we need to resolve satisfactorily, he said, adding that the government
is working with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to
suggest that instead of a protection law, there is a data use and protection
law. The new system will have to be designed to ensure that data is not
misused. This is the big challenge, which going forward needs to be resolved,
he said, noting that the primary goal has to be economic growth and efficient
delivery of services.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
PF LITIGATIONS EXPECTED TO
COME DOWN AFTER SC RULING: RPFC
Provident Fund deduction related litigations with the EPFO is
likely to reduce after the Supreme Court ruling that special allowance paid by
an employer is part of basic wages for EPF dues computation. The apex court in
its judgement has ruled that special allowance is part of the basic wages for
computing the employees provident fund (EPF). The employer as well as the
employee pay 12 per cent of basic wages each towards contribution for social
security scheme run by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). The
order just upheld the existing sections of the EPF Act. After this ruling, it
is expected that litigations related to deductions toward provident fund will
be reduced, RPFC Navendu Rai said.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
INDIA WILL CONTINUE
ECONOMIC REFORMS IRRESPECTIVE OF WHO WINS LS POLLS: CEA
India will continue to implement economic reforms irrespective
of who wins a general election beginning next month, a key government adviser
said, seeking to reassure investors about policy continuity in one of the
world’s fastest-growing economies. As reforms in the past few years -- from tax
to inflation targeting -- start to manifest, the economy’s potential growth
rate will rise by 50 basis points to 7.5 percent to 8 percent, Krishnamurthy
Subramanian, chief economic adviser in the finance ministry, said in an
interview in New Delhi. He cited the global slowdown and trade tensions as
risks to economic growth, which is seen at 7 percent in the year to March 31.
The goods-and-services tax has given us a template for reforms absent a crisis,
Subramanian said on March 11, referring to the nationwide tax introduced by
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2017. Global money cannot find at this point a
better country than India. After sweeping to power in 2014 with the biggest
mandate in three decades, Modi has pushed through long-pending reforms, such as
a bankruptcy law and an inflation targeting framework for the central bank.
Investors are starting to worry about the policy outlook and economic
imbalances if Modi fails to return to power. Foreign direct investment into
Asia’s third-largest economy fell 7 percent in the nine months to December from
a year earlier.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
MAHARASHTRA SAW 4,500
FARMER SUICIDES DESPITE 2017 LOAN WAIVER
In the last five years (2014-18), Maharashtra saw 14,034
farmers — that’s eight a day — end their lives In fact, over 4,500 committed
suicide after the State announced a ₹34,000-crore loan waiver
in June 2017. This information on farmer-suicides over the last five years has
come to light from a response by the Maharashtra Government to an RTI
application by Mumbai-based activist Jitendra Ghadge. While 14,034 farmers
committed suicide over the five-year period, the mega loan waiver of ₹34,000
crore announced by the State government in June 2017 did not help end the
farmer-suicide wave. The RTI data reveals that 1,755 farmers across the State
ended their lives from June 2017 to December 2017, while the number of farmers
who ended their lives in 2018 stood at 2,761. In other words, 4,516 farmers —
eight a day — killed themselves despite the loan waiver. Chief Minister
Devendra Fadnavis had announced a ₹34,022-crore loan waiver to
provide relief to 89 lakh farmers across the State. Of the total farmer
suicides in the last five years, 32 per cent was recorded after the loan-waiver
scheme was announced.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
108 ECONOMISTS, SOCIAL
SCIENTISTS RAISE DOUBTS ON CREDIBILITY OF GOVT DATA
A group of 108 economists and social scientists on Thursday
questioned the credibility of India’s official data The economists, from top
Indian and foreign institutes, also called upon their colleagues from across
the ideological spectrum to impress upon the government, irrespective of the
party in power, to restore access and integrity to public statistics, and
re-establish institutional independence and integrity to the statistical
organisations. The national and global reputation of India’s statistical bodies
is at stake. More than that, statistical integrity is crucial for generating
data that would feed into economic policy-making and that would make for honest
and democratic public discourse, the economists said in an official statement.
They said that it was imperative that the agencies associated with collection
and dissemination of statistics like the Central Statistical Office and the
National Sample Survey Organisation are not subject to political interference.
Lately, the Indian statistics and the institutions associated with it have
however come under a cloud for being influenced and indeed even controlled by
political considerations. In fact, any statistics that cast an iota of doubt on
the achievement of the government seem to get revised or suppressed on the
basis of some questionable methodology, it said. The statement said this
situation was different from the past wherein India’s statistical machinery
enjoyed a high level of reputation for the integrity of the data it produced on
a range of economic and social parameters. While official data was often
criticised for the quality of estimates, but there were never allegations of
political interference influencing decisions and the estimates themselves, it
said.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
AUDIT SAID MUMBAI'S CST
FOOT OVER BRIDGE IS 'FIT TO USE' JUST 6 MONTHS AGO
The Mumbai foot over bridge that killed six people and injured
31 on Thursday due to the collapsing of a deck was given a 'fit for use' rating
in an audit report six months ago, according to several media reports. Fadnavis
said, I have ordered a high-level inquiry into this unfortunate incident which
puts a question mark over the authenticity of the structural audit of bridges
carried out across the city. Fadnavis announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh
each to the family of the deceased and said a high-level committee will probe
the circumstances under which the 40-year-old over-bridge collapsed. The
bridge, which connects the area near the Times of India building with the
iconic Chhatrapati Terminus railway station station, was commonly called 'Kasab
bridge' as the 26/11 Mumbai attack terrorist passed through it during the
strike. During that audit, 354 bridges were checked for their structural
soundness. The FOB that collapsed on Thursday was marked C2B. This means it
needed minor repairs only. Tenders were floated for the repair but it got held
up, PTI quotes a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
BANK DEPOSIT GROWTH SLOWS
TO 9.8% FROM 18-MONTH HIGH PREVIOUS FORTNIGHT; CREDIT GROWTH EASES
The growth in bank deposits at 9.8% year-on-year (y-o-y) in
the fortnight ended March 1, 2019 was slower than the 10.2% y-o-y, reported in
the fortnight to February 15, 2019. That was the highest in one-and-a-half
years, in the previous fortnight, data from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed.
Non-food credit or loans to individuals and companies grew 14.5% year-on-year
(y-o-y) during the fortnight ended March 1, marginally faster than 14.3% y-o-y
reported in the previous fortnight. During the comparable fortnight a year ago,
non-food credit growth stood slower at 11.8%, showed the RBI data. Bank credit
in India is expected to grow at 13-14% on average between FY19 and FY20,
significantly faster compared with the 8% in FY18, which would force a change
in the deposit mobilisation plans of banks over the medium term, said experts
at CRISIL Ratings. To meet this credit growth, banks will have to raise about
Rs 25 lakh crore over the two fiscals, observed the experts. Public sector
banks (PSBs) have yielded 770 basis points (bps) market share in deposits since
FY11, with the loss gradually picking pace in the past few years. PSBs lost 250
bps market share in FY18 alone. However, the loss in branch share is far less
at nearly 450 bps since FY11 and 200 bps in FY18, said the analysts at KIE.
This demonstrates superior performance by private banks and partly reflects
strong growth in loans for private banks, which requires them to focus more on
deposits, observed analysts. The net corporate bonds outstanding as at the end
of December 2018, was Rs 29.48 lakh crore, up 11.4% from 26.47 lakh crore in December
2017, as per latest data released by Securities and Exchange Board of India
(Sebi). Data from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed that the net outstanding
on commercial papers stood at Rs 4.98 lakh crore as of December 31, 2018, up
21.8% from Rs 4.09 lakh crore in the previous year. Taken together with loans,
consolidated credit outstanding in the system stands at Rs 129.42 lakh crore as
of March 1, up 13.8% from Rs 113.75 lakh crore in the comparable period a year
ago. The provisional data released by the RBI showed that outstanding loans to
companies and individuals stood at Rs 94.73 lakh crore as on March 1, up from
Rs 93.78 lakh crore on February 15 and Rs 82.73 lakh crore a year ago. Credit
growth has shown a recovery from record lows over the past few quarters with
the banking system getting out of the impact of demonetisation and a bulk of
lenders focused on retail lending. Bankers now sound increasingly optimistic
about growth trends in credit off-take. Jairam Sridharan, told the analysts
after bank’s Q3FY19 results that loan growth during the quarter was strong.
There was pickup which was visible across all segments. Banking system non-food
credit growth continued its upward trajectory from the multi-decade lows
witnessed in the March quarter and stood at almost 12% for the latest
fortnight, partly aided of course by the low base of last year, Sridharan
observed. Led by 20% y-o-y retail loan growth and 13% loan growth in SME
segment, Axis Bank’s loan growth in Q3FY19 stood at 13% y-o-y.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
GOVT SETS NEW DEADLINE FOR
LOAN ELIGIBILITY FOR SUGAR MILLS
Bowing to pressure from sugar mills in the country, the
government has extended the date for clearing part dues that the mills owe to
sugarcane farmers to March 26 from the earlier deadline of February 28. In a
gazette notification issued on Wednesday, the Department of Food and Public
Distribution (DFPD) said banks could consider loan applications of those sugar
mills which would have cleared 25 per cent of the cane price payable to farmers
in the current sugar season (October 2018-September 2019) by March 26.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
GOVT PUTS BSNL ON
CALL-WAITING MODE FOR 4G, LOAN
At a time when telecom operators in the country are on the
verge of launching 5G services, the State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL)
is still awaiting allocation of 4G spectrum Further, the operator still needs a
‘letter of comfort’ from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for taking
a ₹5,000-crore loan. Last month, BSNL employees across the
country went on a three-day strike (February 18, 19 and 20) demanding
allocation of 4G spectrum and government approvals for the loan. Being a
technology-driven company, 4G is important for BSNL’s journey forward, a source
close to the development told. Both Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) and
BSNL don’t have 4G spectrum, though the latter is providing 4G services using
new Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) in certain circles. The service is provided
using 3G spectrum, but BSNL needs 4G spectrum to provide both 3G and 4G
services simultaneously in an area covered by a single BTS. The miniratna
company had sought 4G spectrum in 2017, but is yet to be awarded. The
government wants guarantees that the allocation of 4G spectrum would help in
BSNL’s revival. Such an assurance is not possible as even the private operators
providing 4G services are not making profits, said another source. The rule
that spectrum cannot be allotted to any operator on preferential basis and the
fallout of the 2G scam had also impaired BSNL’s 4G plans.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
GOVT BRINGS IN NEW POLICY
TO REVIVE STALLED HIGHWAY PROJECTS
The government has unveiled a policy for resolving stalled
highway projects worth nearly Rs 30,000 crore including those where proceedings
have been initiated against the companies before the bankruptcy tribunal. The
move is aimed at unlocking money of both lenders and private players, including
crisis-hit IL&FS, which is caught in about 28-30 projects as work has come
to a standstill due to shortage of funds. According to a road transport
ministry circular issued on March 9, agencies such as NHAI can foreclose the
contract by signing a supplementary agreement. It said the authority will a
make full and final payment to the private player for the value of work done or
90% of the debt due, whichever is lower. The value of work done will be arrived
at after a detailed assessment of the progress and the debt due will be as per
the contract agreement, which mentions the exact cost of the project, said an
official. Nearly all the stuck projects were being implemented on a build
operate and transfer (BOTToll) mode. The circular also defines the projects
that would qualify for such a resolution — projects where work has stopped due
to inability of the contractor or concessionaire on account of proceedings
initiated before the NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal) under the Insolvency
and Bankruptcy Code or default on account of both the clients, which could be
NHAI, PWD and the private player. Once the private player exits, we can invite
bids for completing the project and start work. Similarly, the lenders would
get back some portion of the loan, rather than losing the entire amount. In the
existing concession agreement there is no provision for any payment, if the
contract is terminated before total or provisional completion of the project
due to contractor’s default, said an official.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
RAHUL GANDHI PROMISES
EXCLUSIVE MINISTRY FOR FISHERIES, REVIEW OF GST
The Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday kicked off the
election campaign of his party-led UDF in Kerala by making a slew of promises
including a fair deal to the farmers and other weaker sections, as well as
creation of a separate ministry for the fishery sector and revision of GST The
Congress president said the present GST structure is very complicated and was
only meant to fleece money from the vast majority of the poor across the
country and to disburse it to the crony capitalists numbering about 50. The
present GST is not Goods and Services Tax, but it is Gabbar Singh Tax. We are
going to simplify it and fix it as low as possible when we come to power. The
Congress is working on it, Rahul said. Making a scathing attack on the present
government, the Congress president alleged that the Prime Minister was totally
insensitive to the woes of the poor people of the country. The Modi government
is accessible to the rich few, who in turn functions as the marketing army for
him. The entire banking and financial systems of the country is being kept at
the disposal of those rich people. No significant efforts are being made to
recover the over Rs 3.5 lakh cores loans taken by the rich few in the country.
On the other side, when we want to write off the loans of the poor farmers, I’m
being accused of spoiling the behaviour of the peasants in India. Why are they
not talking about spoiling the rich few when their loans are written off, he
said. The main difference between them (the present rulers) and the Congress is
that we want a fair deal to all. If you don’t want to give loan waivers to the
farmers don’t write off the loans of the rich people also. How many jobs those
rich would have created in the country? If Rs 35 lakhs was given to a dynamic
entrepreneur from Kerala, he would have created much more jobs, than the number
of jobs created by Nirav Modi who was given a loan of Rs 35,000 crores, the
Congress president argued. He said the Congress was keen to ensure that the
voices of the poor fish workers are being heard in Delhi effectively, and the
proposal to create a new ministry for fishery sector is being mooted for this.
Detailing the proposal of the Congress to assure a minimum income to all in the
country, Rahul said when his party comes to power a minimum income line will be
worked out by discussing with various stakeholders. The government will give
money to all those who fall below this minimum income line. The objective is to
eradicate poverty forever from the country, Rahul claimed.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
MSMES ALSO FACE TAX
TERRORISM; FORCED TO DEPOSIT HIGHER ADVANCE TAX
Every year, March brings another headache for MSMEs: adhoc
demand for higher Tax by Income Tax officials to fulfil their targets. The
Commissioners of Income Tax would start sending informal summons to MSMEs to
know how much Tax they are paying. It is so irritating to be summoned by IT
officials and told how much Advance Tax should I deposit this year irrespective
of my sales or profit, told one MSME entrepreneur based in NCR. Why should I be
answerable to them if my sales dropped or I earned less profit in a particular
year. it is nothing short of Tax terrorism, he fumed. Owner of another MSME in
Lucknow says that the problem is even graver in non-Metros where MSMEs are
major Tax payers and that is why easy prey for squeezing more Tax. The pressure
tactics that Tax officials employ is through Tax consultants and Chartered
Accountants who are told to send in the ‘Directors’. ‘While official summons
are not served, the meeting is quite intimidating’, says a recent victim of
such harassment. Mohandas Pai wrote in a leading business daily recently that
‘unrealistic target setting’ is the main reason of ‘Tax terrorism’.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
GOVT PROPOSES NATIONAL
GREEN AVIATION POLICY
The civil aviation ministry will create a simplified regulatory
regime to speed up clearances for airport development and other aviation
projects while taking due care of environment sustainability according to a
white paper. In a white paper on 'National Green Aviation Policy' that has been
put up for public comments, the ministry said aviation regulator DGCA would
work with other government agencies for making bio-jet fuels commercially
viable. Besides, the watchdog would assess and understand emissions from all
aviation related sources, their contribution to the local air quality and their
effect on compliance with local air quality regulations, as per the paper.
According to the paper, the ministry would create a favourable regulatory
regime for clearances of aviation projects such as new airports development and
expansion. There would be a special provision and timelines that would be
worked out in collaboration with central and state government bodies,
environment ministry, pollution control boards and the DGCA to speed up the
developmental activities with due care environment sustainability, it added.
India is one of the fastest growing domestic aviation markets and is projected
to become the the world's third largest air passenger market in 10 years. DGCA
will work with aviation stakeholders and other government authorities with
framework to adopt measures to reduce emissions in all areas -- aircraft,
ground support, airport infrastructure and landside access traffic, it added.
All aviation stakeholders shall also explore the possibilities of use of
bio-fuel and other alternate fuels with lower emissions for ground vehicle
application, it added. Further, the paper noted that the stakeholders would
work closely with government agencies, local bodies for effective waste
management around the airport to ensure reduced bird hazards and safe airport
operation.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
POLLUTION NORMS BROKEN
1048 TIMES IN DELHI-NCR, CONSTRUCTION A MENACE: CPCB
A total of 1,048 violations of pollution norms were recorded
in Delhi-NCR in February by pollution watchdog CPCB in 173 inspections.
According to the data provided by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB),
the highest number of violations was that of construction and demolition
activities at 378, followed by garbage burning in the open at 288. Out of the
1,048 violations, Delhi recorded the highest number at 885, the data showed. In
Ghaziabad, 36 violations were recorded in eight field visits. In Gurgaon, 27
violations were recorded in 10 field visits. In Noida, 66 violations were
observed in seven field visits and 34 were recorded in Faridabad in nine field
visits, the CPCB data showed. In January, a total of 1,398 violations were
recorded in Delhi-NCR in 223 inspections.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
KKR, YES BANK AND BOI AXA
MAY TAKE CONTROL OF CG POWER
Gautam Thapar family may lose control of CG Power and
Industrial Holdings after it defaulted on payments forcing private equity giant
KKR to convert its loans into equity. Two other lenders including Yes Bank and
BOI AXA are in the process of doing the same in a move that that will reduce
the Thapar family to a minority. KKR now owns about 10.8% in the firm and the
combined stake of the lenders is set to touch 30% if YES and others go ahead
with their conversion. The Thapar family held about 34.42% in the capital goods
firm till KKR’s conversion. In addition, the creditors have nudged the board of
CG Power to remove B Hariharan, director and group CFO of Avantha Group as a
promoter-nominee and appointed Narayan Seshadri, former chairman of AstraZeneca
India and former partner of KPMG India as Independent Director. The CG Power
Board has also constituted an empowered operating sub-committee chaired by an
independent director to drive operational improvements. Both these moves are
said to be part of a plan to make CG Power into a board-managed business with a
mandate to improve governance, and enhance value for all stakeholders, said one
of the people mentioned above.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
'PERPETUITY’ CLAUSE STALLS
JET AIRWAY’S NEW FLIGHT PLAN
The Jet Airways revival plan has stalled over promoter Naresh
Goyal’s insistence that his shareholding shouldn’t be capped at 22 per cent in
perpetuity This had been one of Etihad’s conditions for providing funds to the
airline, which needs Rs 750 crore immediately. The board of the Abu Dhabi
carrier, which has a 24 per cent stake in Jet, hasn’t approved the funding
because of Goyal’s insistence on waiver of the clause, said people with
knowledge of the matter. On the other hand, Indian banks have refused to infuse
any money until the promoter stake is cut from the current 51 per cent.
Etihad’s first condition was limiting Goyal’s stake to 22 per cent or below and
was agreed upon in the memorandum of understanding (MoU) but a waiver sought
later has led to Etihad pulling back on funding, said one of those cited above.
Any restructuring plan hinges on Etihad infusing capital and unless that
happens there will be no deal, according to the bankers. According to the plan,
the airline is set to get an infusion of Rs 4,000 crore from various
stakeholders but has received only Rs 250 crore from Naresh Goyal thus far. A
relaxation in the 22 per cent cap would give Goyal a chance to regain control
of the airline, which has been forced to cancel flights as 53 planes have been
grounded because lease rentals haven’t been paid. The stock fell 1.3 per cent
to Rs 237.80 on Thursday. The lenders want Goyal’s exit clause formalised before
any fresh funding is provided, according to two senior bankers aware of the
development. If he has indicated that he will be involved in a non-operational
role, that needs to documented and formalised. We are looking for more clarity
on that issue, said one of them, indicating that the banks don’t want the
existing promoter to have any role in management.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
SC SEEKS EC'S RESPONSE ON
OPPOSITION LEADERS' PLEA FOR TALLYING OF 50 PER CENT OF EVMS WITH VVPAT
The Supreme Court Friday sought the Election Commission's
response on a plea by Opposition leaders seeking counting of Voter Verifiable
Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips of 50 per cent of EVMs in each constituency
before the Lok Sabha results are declared. A bench comprising Chief Justice
Ranjan Gogoi and Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna listed the plea of the
opposition leaders for March 25 and asked the EC to depute an officer to assist
the court.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
REGULATOR KEEPS EYE ON
AIRFARES AFTER BAN ON BOEING 737 MAX
The grounding of Boeing Co.’s 737 Max 8 aircraft by India’s
aviation regulator could lead to a surge in airfares, though it is unlikely to
affect the long-term plans of SpiceJet Ltd and Jet Airways (India) Ltd, the
only Indian operators of these planes. B.S. Bhullar told that airlines had been
advised to keep fares at a regular level Lifting of restrictions on B737 Max 8
aircraft, Bhullar said, would be decided based on inputs from overseas
regulators and Boeing. There is no question of future deliveries of Boeing Max
737 until we allow them to fly in Indian skies, he said. Indian operators are
awaiting delivery of a total of 362 B737 Max 8 aircraft in anticipation of a
surge in air passenger traffic. As many as 17 planes have already been delivered
to SpiceJet and Jet Airways, but five of those planes, forming part of Jet’s
fleet, have been grounded by lessors for non-payment of dues.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
INDIA’S FIRST
MUMBAI-AHMEDABAD BULLET TRAIN SET TO MISS DEADLINE? LAND ACQUISITION DELAYS
PLAGUE PROJECT
Recently, the Consul General of Japan in Mumbai Ryoji Noda was
quoted in an report saying that the deadline of December 2018 has been missed
and he does not know if this would delay the scheduled completion of the
Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project by 2022. The Japanese side cannot do
anything about the delay so they are waiting for the state governments of
Gujarat and Maharashtra to procure the land, he said. Along with the National
High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), which is executing the bullet
train project in India, the state governments will acquire 612 hectare in
Gujarat, 246 hectare in Maharashtra and 7.5 hectare in Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
For the development of the project, as many as 5,404 people will have to give
up their land in Gujarat with the city of Ahmedabad topping the list with 1,196
people, the report said. Nitin Patel on February 10 said that a total of 197
villages of Gujarat’s 32 talukas will be acquired. Till now, a total of 110
plots, measuring 160 hectare, have been acquired from farmers with their
consent. An amount of Rs 620 crore has been disbursed for this as compensation,
he said.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
E-COMMERCE FIRMS MUST NOT
SELL UNAUTHORISED SIGNAL BOOSTERS, SAYS TELECOM INDUSTRY BODY
The sale of unauthorised mobile signal boosters and repeaters
on e-commerce platforms like Amazon and Flipkart has not gone down well with
telecom operators as they feel it violates the law and also usage of such
equipment interferes with their licensed frequency bands, impacting overall
quality of services. In similarly worded letters to Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal
and Rediff.com, industry body Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI)
said the e-commerce platforms should immediately cease and desist from selling
such equipment as there has been clear provisions of law and specific
directions from the department of telecommunications (DoT) prohibiting
possession and sale without obtaining a requisite permission. As per COAI, the
platforms have been selling mobile signal boosters or repeaters which can
enhance signals in the 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz and 2300 MHz bands,
which are licensed spectrum bands assigned to operators to provide telephony
services. The signal boosters fall under the definition of wireless telegraphy
apparatus and wireless transmitter under the Indian Wireless Telegraph Act,
1933, which prohibits possession of such apparatus without a licence. It is pertinent
to note that possession and sale of such equipment, without obtaining requisite
permissions under the Act and rules constitutes violation of the provisions of
the Act and is a punishable offense, COAI said in the letter. As per provisions
of the Act, whoever violates the law can be punished with imprisonment which
may extend to three years and can be fined or imposed with both. The industry
body cited a letter dated May 10, 2016 from DoT whereby specific directions
were issued with regard to online sale of wireless sets and equipment. Through
the letter, DoT conveyed to e-commerce companies that no person or dealer shall
sell or hire a wireless equipment to any person, unless such person or dealer
holds a valid dealer possession licence (DPL). The DPL holder can sell wireless
equipment only to such person or entity that holds an authorisation issued by
DoT. In response to DoT’s letter, some e-commerce companies had stated that
their role was of an intermediary only and they do not require the DPL.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
ONLINE PLAYERS SELLING
WIRELESS EQUIPMENT ILLEGALLY: COAI
Despite repeated notices from the Department of
Telecommunications (DoT), several major e-commerce players including Amazon.in
and Flipkart, continue to sell wireless equipment, including mobile signal
boosters and repeaters. According to Cellular Operators Association of India
(COAI), an association of mobile service providers, telecom equipment, internet
services providers and other digital technologies' companies, the e-commerce
companies have been selling such devices that claims to enhance signals in
certain telecom spectrum bands that are assigned only to Service Providers
licensed by the Central Government under the Indian Telegraph Act. Sale of such
devices, without valid license, is an offence and tantamounts to fine and
imprisonment of upto three years or more, COAI said. In a letter to to all the
e-commerce players, the COAI had asked them to immediately cease and desist
from selling mobile signal boosters /repeaters on their respective websites as
the usage of such devices by end customers creates severe interference in the
licensed frequency bands and impacts the overall quality of services of the
telecom service providers. The letter, written by COAI’s Director General Rajan
S Mathews on March 12, 2019, has also been sent to the DoT and highlights the
lackadaisical attitude of the e-commerce players in dealing with a situation
that indirectly violates the Indian Telegraph Act and directly flouts the rules
set by the Information Technology Act and Information Technology rules that
covers online marketplaces as Intermediaries. As per the above mentioned Act,
the Intermediaries need to obtain a Dealer Possession License (DPL) under the Indian
Wireless Telegraphy Act for sale of devices under the licensed bands. The
letter also stated that COAI, had communicated about the concerns raised by the
DoT to all the ecommerce players last year to which they clarified their role
as an intermediary and that they do not require any DPL license.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
PFRDA AIMS TO ADD 75 LAKH
NEW SUBSCRIBERS IN FY20
Encouraged by its strong show on new Atal Pension Yojana (APY)
enrolments this fiscal, pension regulator Pension Fund Regulatory and
Development Authority of India (PFRDA) has now set a higher target to bring in
at least 75 lakh new subscribers in 2019-20, a top official said. Our
aspiration is to have an APY subscriber base of at least 2.25 crore by
end-March next fiscal. We have already touched 1.5 crore, a level that we had
aimed for this fiscal, Supratim Bandyopadhyay, told. It may be recalled that
APY’s subscriber base, at the end of March 2018, was about 97 lakh. PFRDA had
already added 53 lakh new APY subscribers this fiscal. There has been a lot of
feedback from the market for higher pension amounts as many feel that ₹5,000
at the age of 60, 20 to 30 years from now, will not be sufficient. PFRDA also
wants the maximum age bar to enter the scheme to be raised to 50 years from 40
years now. At present, the age to enter APY is between 18 and 40, but an
increase in the same by another 10 years – 18 to 50 years – will help expand
the subscriber base, according to PFRDA.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
MODI’S ADVISOR SAYS UPA
ERA ECONOMIC GROWTH ‘NOT BAD’; BUT THERE WAS PROBLEM
The economic growth during the UPA era was ‘not bad’ but the
system was out of control, Sanjeev Sanyal, said. The economy then faced
problems of rising soaring inflation, widening and current account fiscal
deficit, and massive ledning from the banks, he added. The real problem was
inflation spiking up into double digits, fiscal deficits going up to 6.6 per
cent in 2009-10, current account deficits at 3-3.5 per cent of the Gross
Domestic Product, there was massive lending from banks, completely out of
control, he said. On demonetisation, economist said that the financial exercise
was not a disaster as claimed by the critics and in fact improved the tax
compliance and business culture of the country. The noteban move was one of the
most challenging decisions by the Modi government, he also told.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
‘MODI MAKES IT POSSIBLE’:
BJP SLOGAN FOR 2019 ELECTION, SAYS JAITLEY
Seeking to encash Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s image of a
doer, BJP has chosen the slogan of ‘Modi Hai to Mumkin Hai’ — ‘Modi makes it
possible’ for the upcoming general elections, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley
said Thursday. Modi, he added, has demonstrated during the last five years
indefatigability by literally working round-the-clock, Jaitley said in the
Agenda 2019. He further said Modi as a quick learner has demonstrated his
ability to take quick decisions on complicated matters with clarity and
determination. His image as a doer is now recognised by most Indians. Many
India observers across the world have marvelled with India’s pace of taking
decisions and implementing them. The BJP, therefore, has chosen an effective slogan
for the forthcoming elections ‘Modi Hai to Mumkin Hai’ — ‘Modi makes it
possible’, said Jaitley. Recalling some landmark achievements of the
government, he said for the first time for five years in a row, India has
remained the fastest growing major economy in the world and also a ‘sweet spot’
in the global economy. It is both the motivation and the leadership which made
the vital difference. It is precisely for this reason that India will witness
an election where people will get an opportunity to endorse Prime Minister
Modi’s leadership, decisiveness, integrity and performance. Indeed he makes it
possible, the finance minister said. Among other things, Jaitley also said
during Modi’s premiership, India demonstrated through surgical strike of 2016
and air-strike of 2019 against Pakistan that it was willing to adopt
unconventional methods of attacking terror at the point of its origin. The
other achievements of the government, he said, were bringing down inflation
from 10.4 per cent during the UPA regime to 2.5 per cent presently, running an
honest government and providing 10 per cent reservation in public employment
and educational institutions for economically weaker sections in unreserved
category. The government, he said, has also provided income support to poor
farmers and pension scheme for the unorganised labour in the country. Other
achievements of the government were the smoothest implementation of GST, free
medical treatment to the poor under Ayushman Bharat scheme and 100 per cent
electrification of all households, he said. The above is only an illustrative
list of the kinds of strides India is making. Has any government done more? It
was the same governmental machinery, the same political system, the same
implementation instruments that the government had at its disposal. It is both
the motivation and the leadership which made the vital difference, Jaitley
said.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
MODI ‘SINGLE BIGGEST
DESTROYER OF JOBS’, GOVT SYNONYM FOR UNEMPLOYMENT, SAYS CONGRESS
Attacking the government over alleged job crisis, the Congress
on Wednesday termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi the single biggest destroyer
of jobs and claimed that his dispensation had become a synonym for unemployment
In an all-out attack on the government, the opposition party said Prime
Minister Modi came to power promising two crore jobs per year but five years
down the line, joblessness and unemployment were at a 45-year high Economic
growth is at a 5-year low. Farm income growth is at a 14-year low. Fresh
investments are at a 14-year low. Private investments are at a 7-year low.
Industrial growth is at a low of 1.7 per cent (down from 7.5%, a year ago).
Household savings are at a 20-year low. FDI growth is at a 5-year low. Core
sector growth is at a 2-year low, he claimed. As per National Sample Survey
Office (NSSO) report, unemployment rate is at 6.1 per cent. Unemployment rate
for the youth is at an alarming high level of 13-27 per cent. This is the
highest in last 45 years, he claimed. Coupled with a flawed GST, businesses
perished and jobs destroyed, he claimed Citing the CMIE report, Surjewala said
India lost 1.1 crore jobs in 2018 alone and the loss in rural India was even
bigger. An estimated 91 lakh jobs were lost in rural India while the loss in
urban India was 18 lakh jobs, he said. Over 88 lakh women lost their jobs last
year, accounting for over 80 per cent of the total job loss, he alleged. Rural
India accounts for two-thirds of India’s population, but it accounted for 84
per cent of the job losses, Surjewala said. He claimed that even Niti Aayog
admitted in February, 2018, that India is plagued by unsatisfactory jobs and
underemployment. He said the looming job crisis reflecting unprecedented
unemployment in the country can be gauged from the fact that for 90,000 Railway
jobs 2.8 crore youth, including those having post graduate and doctorate
degrees, applied In Uttar Pradesh, 23,00,000 youth applied for 386 posts of
peon, in Maharashtra, 2,00,000 youth applied for 1,137 posts of constables, and
in Haryana, 18 lakh youth with qualifications of PhD, MSc, MA (Mechanical),
MBA, and LLB, applied for 18,000 posts of peon, gardeners and watchmen, he
claimed. The Modi government exudes the virtues of a MUDRA loan, but fails to
tell the people of India that average size of MUDRA loans for 91 per cent
beneficiaries is a mere Rs 23,000, Surjewala said. He asserted that the
Congress is committed to create jobs. The Congress is committed to putting the
agriculture sector, informal sector & MSME’s at the centre of its job
creation agenda, besides rapid expansion of the organised sector by infusion of
capital, investments and appropriate concessions, he said.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
COAL PRODUCTION DURING APRIL-FEBRUARY
2018-19
The coal production during April-February 2018-19 was 638.46
MT as compared to 591.42 MT during corresponding period of previous year with a
growth rate of 8.0% on y-o-y basis. Coal India Limited (CIL) coal production
target was fixed 610.00 MT for 2018-19. The coal production during
April-February 2018-19 was 527.70 MT as compared to 495.08 MT during
corresponding period of previous year with a growth rate of 6.6% on y-o-y
basis. Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) coal production target was
fixed at 65.00 MT for 2018-19. The coal production during April-February
2018-19 was 57.94 MT as compared to 54.64 MT during corresponding period of
previous year with a growth rate of 6.0% on y-o-y basis. Coal production target
of Captive Mines was fixed at 40.00 MT for 2018-19. The coal production during
April-February 2018-19 was 44.41 MT as compared to 33.76 MT during
corresponding period of previous year with a growth rate of 31.6% on y-o-y
basis. Thus, the coal production target (40.00 MT) by captive mines has already
been achieved by Feb-2019. Coal production target of other mines was fixed at
15.00 MT for 2018-19. The coal production by these mines during April-February
2018-19 was 8.40 MT as compared to 7.94 MT during corresponding period of
previous year with a growth rate of 5.8% on y-o-y basis.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
ALL POLITICAL PARTIES
SHOULD INCLUDE FARMERS' DEMANDS IN MANIFESTOS: ICCFM
Farmers' body ICCFM Thursday said political parties should
include various demands, such as Rs 5,000 monthly pension and an additional
income support under the PM-Kisan scheme, in their election manifestos The All
India Coordination Committee of Farmers' Movement (ICCFM) also demanded that
family members of the farmers who committed suicide should be rehabilitated and
at least one family member should be given a government job. We have 18 key
demands and we want all the political parties to include in their election
manifestos with clear mandate of timeline when they would implement, Yudhvir
Singh of ICCFM told. He said the direct income support of Rs 6,000 per hectare
(comprising 2.5 acres) being offered in three instalments in a year to small
and marginal farmers under the PM-Kisan scheme is insufficient and does not
cover everyone We want the government to give an additional income support of
Rs 10,000 per acre per year per farmer to all farmers across the country, Singh
told. Small and marginal farmers should also be given a pension of at least Rs
5,000 per month after the age of 60, he added. It should be ensured that the
crops should not be purchased below MSP under any condition. There should be a
provision of penalty if this is not followed by the agriculture mandi, it said,
adding that there should also be a guarantee from the government for 100 per
cent procurement of all crops. It also demanded a white paper on all the
free-trade agreements signed by India and how it has performed, special session
in Parliament on agricultural issues and lift ban on diesel vehicles older than
10 years used in agriculture.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
RAILWAY MINISTRY URGES
PASSENGERS TO OPT FOR TRAIN TRAVEL
The railway ministry has urged passengers to opt for train
travel, instead of airways promising better safety and comfort amid global
concerns following the crash of a Boeing aircraft earlier this week. The
ministry of railways urged customers to Skip the Airways (and) Grab the
Railways, in a tweet sent out on Thursday evening. The tweet in question added,
While Max Aircrafts are grounded, take the train for Max Comfort, Max Safety,
Max Value for Money.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
DRONES TO UNDERTAKE
INDIA'S 'BIGGEST' LAND SURVEY EXERCISE
Maharashtra state will use drones to undertake the biggest
land survey exercise in modern India, as the government aims to give ownership
rights to about 15 million rural households in the western state, a senior
official said on Thursday. Starting June 1, dozens of drones mounted with
high-resolution cameras will survey the inhabited areas of 40,000 villages in
the state, according to S. Chockalingam. The exercise is expected to be
completed in three years, he said. The villagers have been paying taxes on the
land they live on, but they had no titles, as the land had never been surveyed,
he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. It is the biggest survey exercise in
modern India, and it will give the villagers security of tenure, he said on the
sidelines of a land conference in New Delhi. In Maharashtra, only 3,000
villages had been surveyed in the more than 70 years since India's
independence, Chockalingam said. After a pilot survey last year, the state had
issued nearly 400 title deeds within a month, using the village's tax records
for verification. With drones, we are able to cut down the time taken to survey
significantly. What may have taken 30 years, we will be able to do in three
years, he said. In Maharashtra, the process of digitising about 270 million
land records is nearly complete, Chockalingam said.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
WEALTH TEST' TWEAK TO HELP
DETERMINE OBC CREAMY LAYER?
The law ministry has said that salary and agricultural income
should not be included in the wealth test of OBCs whose parents work in PSUs
and banks, to determine if he belongs to the creamy layer - an opinion which
can upend the Centre's stance on the issue which has created a permanent source
of career crisis for the youth of this category. Creamy layer is the section of
backward castes which is considered economically advanced and ineligible for
reservations. The department of personnel and training has been treating the
OBCs from PSU background differently from those working in state or central
governments. The guiding charter (1993 OM) has laid down that Group A and Group
B (with caveats) are ineligible for quotas while others are eligible provided
their annual income is not above Rs 8 lakh. It states that annual income does
not include the salaries of parents and agricultural income. The Centre has
been applying this exclusion criteria for wards of persons employed in central
and state governments, but in case of PSUs and banks, the Centre has been
calculating the creamy layer on the basis of salaries of parents, putting the
latter at a disadvantage. While the high courts of Madras and Delhi had slammed
the Centre and asked them to apply the same principle for both categories of
OBCs, the government chose to file an appeal in the Supreme Court. Now, the law
ministry has given a categorical opinion contradicting the Centre's stand. To a
clarification sought by Parliament's committee on welfare of OBCs through
Congress MP B K Hariprasad, the law ministry said that category II-C
(PSUs/banks etc) would be subjected to the wealth test (section VI) mentioned
in the 1993 OM. It has said that exclusion of salaries and agri-income counts
for both the categories. It contradicts the stance taken by the DoPT in its
affidavit in the SC - that not clubbing of salary and agri-income was not
applicable to OBCs from PSU background.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
AFTER MUMBAI BRIDGE
COLLAPSE, NCP SAYS SCRAP MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR BULLET TRAIN PLAN
The NCP Friday demanded that the multi-billion dollar
Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project be scrapped a day after a foot overbridge
connected to iconic CSMT station collapsed, killing six persons and injuring
31. Jitendra Awhad said the money being spent on the high-speed rail project, a
joint venture between India and Japan, should be invested to upgrade suburban
railway facilities in the metropolis and surrounding areas. He said scrapping
the bullet train project would be part of the NCP’s manifesto and claimed it
would be called off within one month of the party attaining power. The prime
concern of the government should be an improvement of railway facilities. A
blame game by authorities is not the solution. We demand that the bullet train
project be cancelled since it is merely a show-off project and a waste of
tax-payers’ money, he claimed. We will also include this point in our
manifesto. Within one month of coming to power, we will scrap the bullet train
project and use the money for suburban rail and its connecting services, Awhad
added. Specialised audit and immediate maintenance is required of dilapidated
bridges, several 50-70 years old, over railway tracks in Mumbai and suburban
areas, he said against the backdrop of Thursday’s bridge collapse. He claimed
over 200 railway-related accidents occur daily which either cause loss of lives
or injuries to commuters. Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said
an audit of the bridge, done a year ago, had recommended minor repairs but
money for it was never sanctioned.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
IPL FRANCHISES RUSH TO BAG
SPONSORSHIPS
With the 12th season of the IPL just over a week away, the
eight franchises are in the last leg of negotiations to close the few remaining
sponsorships. Estimates suggest that the franchises will mop up anything
between Rs 40 crore and Rs 80 crore from the sponsorships, depending on their
past performance. The top two teams, Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians,
which have signed mostly long-term deals, are expected to earn Rs 70-80 crore,
while Royal Challengers Bangalore, thanks to captain Virat Kohli, has been able
to garner Rs 50-60 crore this season. The other teams — Kolkata Knight Riders,
Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan Royals, Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Capitals —
will end up with Rs 40-55 crore, according to sports marketing executives. The
two marquee teams still retain the value, whereas others have to work on
building the brand, said R Ramakrishnan, who co-founded sports marketing firm
Baseline Ventures. IPL 2019 will kick off on March 23. The BCCI has announced
the schedule for the first two weeks only and is expected to unveil the full
schedule and venues later this week. Ambiguity over venues delayed finalising
sponsors for some franchises this time. Most of them had to wait for rates to
go up till BCCI put to rest speculation over shifting the tournament outside
India because of the general elections. Most of the franchises have signed up
the main sponsors, with many of them returning, considering that IPL remains
the top property with maximum brand recall. MI, owned by Mukesh Ambani’s
Reliance Industries, will continue to have Samsung as the principal sponsor
with its logo printed on the front of the jersey. Hindi general entertainment
channel Colors has taken the back of the jersey. Colors is run by Viacom18,
where RIL-owned TV18 owns a majority stake.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
AVOID POLITICALLY COLOURED
SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS, UP TOP COP TELLS POLICE PERSONNEL AHEAD OF LOK SABHA
ELECTIONS
Police personnel in Uttar Pradesh have been directed to
exercise restraint while posting on social media and avoid any politically
coloured remarks that may call into question their impartiality in the upcoming
Lok Sabha polls. We have advised our personnel to avoid social media updates
which might be controversial and show them favouring any political party. The
message should not go that cops are for or against any political party,
Director General of Police (DGP) OP Singh told PTI. By showing restraint in
their social media activities, police personnel can discharge their duties
better and people can come to them with their grievances without any fear, he
said. The advisory to the police personnel also said that they should avoid taking
any gift from any political party or candidate, avoid posting politically
coloured social media updates and remain impartial and non-partisan during the
polls. The police personnel have been asked not to get influenced by any
political party or indulge in harassment of political workers, leaders or
supporters. The policemen through their conduct should not express support for
any political personality or group, he said, asking them to avoid discussing
voting preferences for any party or leader. The UP Police has around 1.85 lakh
personnel. The DGP had issued an advisory in October last year after the murder
of Apple executive Vivek Tiwari in the state capital in which two constables
were allegedly involved. The two cops were sacked after the incident. The
family members and friends of the two sacked constables had started a campaign
on social media in their favour, even soliciting funds from people to fight
their case. After the media reports regarding this, the DGP had issued a
17-point charter for the police personnel on social media activities to prevent
any bad name to the force. For polls, the UP DGP has asked the personnel to
honestly discharge their duties before and during the polling process in the
state, which accounts for 80 Lok Sabha seats. The Election Commission has
announced the schedule for polls, which will be held in seven phases in Uttar
Pradesh between April 11 and May 19, with the counting of votes to be held on
May 23. Votes would be cast on April 11, 18, 23 and 29 and May 6, 12 and 19 in
UP.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
BROOKFIELD TO ACQUIRE
RIL'S EAST WEST PIPELINE FOR RS 13,000 CRORE
Canadian investor Brookfield-led India Infrastructure
investment trust (InvIT) is set to acquire East West Pipeline (EWPL), earlier
known as Reliance Gas Transportation Infrastructure, from Mukesh Ambani for Rs
13,000 crore. Brookfield on Thursday filed a preliminary placement memorandum
through which InvIT (set up by Brookfield as sponsor and 90 per cent investor)
will invest Rs 13,000 crore to acquire EWPL. Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) will
get the right to acquire equity shares of Pipeline Infrastructure Private Ltd
(PIPL), held by InvIT at an equity value of Rs 50 crore, at the end of 20
years. Based on the understanding, the existing pipeline usage agreement has
been reworked, giving a significant participation in net earnings of PIPL to
RIL. As part of the transaction, InvIT will acquire 100 per cent equity in
PIPL, which currently owns and operates the pipeline, said an RIL statement.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
WATER QUALITY OF GANGA HAS
WORSENED IN 3 YEARS, SAYS STUDY
The Rs 20,000-crore Namami Gange project to conserve, clean
and rejuvenate the Ganga river seems to have failed to achieve its target On
the contrary, analysis of data collected by the city-based Sankat Mochan
Foundation (SMF) has revealed a significant rise in coliform bacteria and
biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), important parameters to evaluate water
quality. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had set an ambitious 2019 deadline to
achieve results on nirmalta (cleanliness) of Ganga when he launched the project
in May 2015. Union minister Nitin Gadkari last year extended the deadline to
March 2020. SMF, a Varanasi-based NGO, has been monitoring the quality of Ganga
water since the launch of the Ganga Action Plan by then Prime Minister Rajiv
Gandhi in 1986. Working as a watchdog for the cause of the Ganga, SMF has
established its own laboratory to analyse the samples of Ganga water on a
regular basis. Data collected by SMF’s Ganga Laboratory at Tulsi Ghat here has
painted a gloomy picture of the Ganga’s health due to high bacterial pollution.
Coliform organisms should be 50MPN (most probable number)/100ml or less in
drinking water and 500MPN/100ml in outdoor bathing water, while BOD should be
less than 3mg/l. According to SMF data, faecal coliform count rose from 4.5
lakh (upstream at Nagwa) and 5.2 crore (downstream in Varuna) in January 2016
to 3.8 crore (upstream) and 14.4 crore (downstream) in February 2019.
Similarly, BOD level has risen from 46.8-54mg/l to 66-78mg/l during January
2016-February 2019. Besides, the level of dissolved oxygen (DO), which should
be 6mg/l or more, has gone down from 2.4mg/l to 1.4mg/l during this period.
High presence of coliform bacteria in Ganga water is alarming for human health,
said SMF president and IIT-BHU professor V N Mishra, who is also the mahant of
the famous Sankat Mochan temple. Faecal coliform is present in the gut and
faeces of warmblooded animals. Consequently, E coli is considered to be the
species of coliform bacteria that is the best indicator of faecal pollution and
possible presence of disease-causing pathogens, said B D Tripathi.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
GOVT PANEL CONSIDERED
SELLING ONGC'S BIGGEST OILFIELD TO PVT FIRMS: REPORT
State-owned ONGC's nine biggest oil and gas fields including
Mumbai High and Vasai East came tantalizing close to being sold to private and
foreign companies but the plan was nixed after strong opposition from within
the government, sources said. Rajiv Kumar late last year considered
transferring western offshore oil and gas fields of Mumbai High, Heera, D-1,
Vasai East and Panna as well as Greater Jorajan and Geleki field in Assam,
Baghewala in Rajasthan and Kalol oilfield in Gujarat to private/foreign
companies. Multiple sources in Niti Aayog and government said, the plan to give
away fields producing 95 per cent of India's current oil and gas could not go
through because of very strong opposition from Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC)
as well as some quarters within the government who found something amiss in the
proposal. Besides the 9 fields, 149 marginal fields, that contribute about 5
per cent of the domestic production, were to be clustered and bid out. Private
and foreign companies have generally shied away from taking up exploration
blocks and have instead been lobbying for getting a stake in producing oil and
gas fields of ONGC and Oil India Ltd (OIL) saying they can raise output by
bringing in capital and technology. NOCs, on the other hand, contend that they
do not have pricing and marketing freedom and they too can get the technology
provided the same is provided. The final report that the committee submitted on
January 29, had watered down the proposal by recommending freedom to NOCs to
choose field specific implementation model including farm out, joint venture or
technical service model for raising output from the fields that contribute 95
per cent of the current output. Sources said, 64 small and marginal fields of
ONGC and two of Oil India Ltd (OIL) were recommended to be bid out within four
months and NOCs allowed to retain 54 others (49 by ONGC and 3 by OIL) where
enhanced oil recovery/improved oil recovery schemes were under implementation.
The recommendations have been accepted by the government.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
RINFRA TO SELL ENTIRE
STAKE IN DELHI-AGRA TOLL ROADWAY FOR RS 3,600 CRORE
Reliance Infrastructure Ltd Thursday said it will sell its
entire stake in Delhi-Agra Toll Roadway to Singapore-based Cube Highways for Rs
3,600 crore, following which the Anil Ambani led company's debt will be reduced
by 25 per cent to less than Rs 5,000 crore. Reliance Infrastructure (RInfra)
has entered into a pact with Cube Highways in this regard. Cube Highways and
Infrastructure III Pte Ltd is a Singapore-based company formed by global
infrastructure fund - I Squared Capital and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. The transaction is in line with Reliance
Infrastructure's strategic plan of monetising non-core business and focus on
major growth areas like engineering & construction (E&C) business.
RInfra announced the signing of Definitive Binding Agreement with Cube Highways
and Infrastructure III Pte Ltd for the sale of its 100 per cent stake in
Delhi-Agra (DA) Toll Road Private Limited, the company said in a statement. The
total deal enterprise value is over Rs 3,600 crore. In addition, NHAI claims of
Rs 1,200 crore to be filed by DA Toll Road Pvt Ltd will flow directly to
Reliance Infrastructure, the company added. RInfra said, it will utilise the
proceeds of this transaction entirely to reduce its debt. After the completion
of the transaction for Delhi-Agra Toll Road, the debt of Reliance
Infrastructure will reduce by 25 per cent to only less than Rs 5,000 crore, the
company said. The transaction is subject to all requisite permissions and
approvals, it added. The tolling operation for the heavily-trafficked project
started in October 2012 and has a concession period till 2038.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
VEHICLES CARRYING RESERVED
EVMS, VVPATS TO BE FITTED WITH GPS TRACKERS
Vehicles carrying reserved EVMs and VVPATs during the seven-phased
Lok Sabha polls will be mandatorily equipped with GPS to track their movement,
the Election Commission has said. The decision came in the backdrop of
electronic voting machines (EVMs) and voter verifiable paper audit trail
(VVPAT) machines being found in hotels, roads and even at the residence of an
MLA during the assembly elections held in five states late last year. Instructions
have been issued to all State chief electoral officers to carefully monitor
‘end-to-end’ movement of all reserved EVMs and paper trail machines. For the
purpose, vehicles of all sector officers carrying reserve machines will
mandatorily be fitted with GPS tracking system, it said. When incidents of
missing EVMs were reported, the poll panel had found that in most of the cases,
the polling personnel were careless and did not follow the standard operating
procedure. The EC will set up nearly 10.35 lakh polling stations in the
country, as compared to nearly 9.28 lakh set up during 2014 parliamentary
polls. This marks an increase of 10.1%. The increase is largely due to
rationalisation of polling stations, which the commission undertook in the
recent years, the EC said. Nearly 39.6 lakh electronic voting machines and 17.4
lakh paper trail or voter verifiable paper trail machines would be used in
these polling stations. These include reserves. One control unit and at least
one ballot unit where buttons are placed constitutes EVM.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
REPRESENTATION OF THE
PEOPLE ACT, 1951 – PUBLIC NOTICE PERIOD
Registration of Political parties is governed by the
provisions of Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. A
party seeking registration under the said Section with the Commission has to
submit an application to the Commission within a period of 30 days following
the date of its formation as per guidelines prescribed by the Election
Commission of India in exercise of the powers conferred by Article 324 of the
Commission of India and Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act,
1951. As per existing guidelines, the applicant association is inter-alia asked
to publish proposed Name of the party in two national daily news papers and two
local daily newspapers, on two days in same news papers, for inviting objections,
if any, with regard to the proposed registration of the party before the
Commission within a 30 days from such publication. The commission has announced
the elections for the Lok Sabha and Assemblies to Andhra Pradesh, Orissa,
Arunachal Pradesh on 10th March, 2019. Therefore, in view of the current
elections, the Commission has given one time relaxation and has reduced the
notice period from 30 days to 7 days for the parties who have published their
public notice by 10th March, 2019 i.e. date of announcement of election. Now,
therefore, if any body has any objection with regard to the registration of any
political party who have published their public notice by 10th march, 2019 may
file their objection against that party by 17th March, 2019.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
JET AIRWAYS PILOTS SEEK
GOVERNMENT HELP TO RECOVER UNPAID SALARIES
Cash-strapped Indian carrier Jet Airways' pilots union has for
the first time sought the government's help to recover pending salaries and
dues from the airline after their pleas to the management have fallen on deaf
ears. In a letter to labour minister, National Aviators Guild, which represents
the majority of Jet's pilots, has asked that the airline immediately pay their
outstanding salaries and allowances till date with interest. This situation is
leading to extreme tension and frustration amongst our members, hardly an ideal
situation for pilots in cockpit, captain Karan Arora, said in the letter dated
March 6. Jet has delayed payments to its pilots, suppliers and lessors for
months and defaulted on loans after racking up over $1 billion in debt. The
airline is in talks with the country's main state-backed banks for a rescue
deal and emergency funds.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
JET AIRWAYS CRISIS: SBI
HOPEFUL OF RESOLUTION NEXT WEEK
Amidst increasing differences between Jet Airways and Etihad
Airways, the only party that can bailout the beleaguered airline over the
equity cap that its founder chairman Naresh Goyal can hold after his forced
exit, bankers on Friday exuded confidence of reaching a resolution plan as
early as next week. After agreeing to cap his shareholding at 22 per cent for
perpetuity and completely exit the airline's management as a precondition for a
bailout that Etihad and bankers demanded, Goyal had last Friday wrote to Etihad
to remove the perpetuity clause from the resolution plan and also the Gulf
carrier immediately offer a lifeline of Rs 750 crore failing which the airline
may get grounded. This, according to media reports, has put off the Gulf
carrier which already owns 24 per cent in the airline which has grounded 42 per
cent of its 119 aircraft, most of them due to non-payment lease rentals to the
aircraft lessors. According to the draft resolution plan submitted to the
lenders led by the lead lender SBI, Etihad will bring in around Rs 1,800 crore
as fresh equity and increase its stake to 24.9 per cent, while Goyal will chip
in with Rs 750 crore and the rest of the Rs 3,800 crore will come from other
investors. It is a work in progress. Very soon, say by next week, we will have
a solution plan in place, a senior SBI official said. We are making every
effort and SBI is leading that effort. We are clear on one thing: to ensure
that the airline runs and not get grounded and not to stave off our accounts
becoming NPAs. That's the fundamental difference between any other NPA and Jet
Airways, he added.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
SOME LESSORS TO END DEALS
WITH JET, PREPARE TO FLY PLANES OUT OF INDIA: SOURCES
Some lessors of India's Jet Airways have begun terminating
lease deals over unpaid dues and are preparing to move the leased planes abroad
escalating a crisis for the cash-strapped carrier, five sources with knowledge
of the matter told. Two lessors have applied to the Directorate General of
Civil Aviation (DGCA), India's aviation regulator, to deregister at least five
planes leased to Jet, three of the sources said. Termination of lease
agreements normally precedes applications made to the DGCA. Jet has delayed
payments to its pilots, suppliers and lessors for months and defaulted on loans
after racking up over $1 billion in debt. While it is now meeting some of its
payments, it's survival hinges on emergency funding from the country's main
state-backed banks. Frustrated by the unpaid dues, Jet's lessors, including
many of the world's biggest players such as GE Capital Aviation Services
(GECAS), Aercap Holdings and BOC Aviation have already taken control of some
their planes, sources said, leading to the grounding of nearly a third of its
119 aircraft fleet. Once the planes are deregistered, they can be taken out of
the country and leased to other airlines. One of the sources with direct
knowledge of the matter said that of the planes being deregistered, two are
potentially being flown to China and one to Ireland.
Recommended By Colombia. Another industry source said GECAS
and Aercap had filed an application to deregister a total of five planes Lease
terminations could hit the already fragile confidence of business partners of
Jet.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
JAN AUSHADHI SCHEME MAY
DISRUPT 20% OF INDIAN PHARMA MARKET SALES: REPORT
The Jan Aushadhi scheme, under which the government provides
quality medicines at affordable rates may disrupt around 20 per cent of Indian
pharmaceutical market sales, says a report. The scheme aims to provide the
highest quality drugs at affordable prices, at almost 50-90 per cent discount to
their branded counterparts. The report by Edelweiss expects that around Rs
6,000 crore of the Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India (BPPI) drugs could adversely
impact around Rs 25,000-30,000 crore branded sales, assuming an average price
differential of five times. India has over 5,000 Jan Aushadhi stores that cover
a list of 800 plus drugs, both chronic and acute, across therapies like
anti-cancer, anti-infective, reproductive and gastro intestinal medicines. Jan
Aushadhi stores clocked aggregate sales of Rs 150 crore in second half of FY19,
according to the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP). BPPI posted around Rs 120
crore sales in FY18 at maximum retail price, which corresponds to approximately
Rs 600 crore of branded products, versus Rs 33 crore in FY17 and Rs 12.4 crore
in FY16. We believe this two-pronged focus will enable the BPPI to expand to
over 10,000 stores by FY21. With each store achieving monthly sales of around
Rs 5 lakh, the scheme is set to top Rs 6,000 crore by FY21, the report said. It
added that as unbranded generics and Jan Aushadhi gain steam, there will be
further pressure on volume, leading to lower revenue growth for branded market.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
LOK SABHA POLLS: WEST
BENGAL HAS MAXIMUM FIRST-TIME VOTERS FOLLOWED BY UP, MP
According to Election Commission data, 20.1 lakh first-time
voters will be exercising their franchise in West Bengal. Uttar Pradesh and
Madhya Pradesh have 16.7 lakh and 13.6 lakh first-time voters, respectively.
The number of people eligible to vote in Lok Sabha polls beginning next month
has increased by 8.4 crore as compared to the 2014 general election, and these
include 1.5 crore young voters who are in the 18-19 age group and would
exercise their franchise first time. Over 1.5 crore voters are in the age group
of 18-19 years. These young voters constitute 1.66 per cent of the total
electors. Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have 12.8 lakh,
11.9 lakh, 8.9 lakh and 5.3 lakh first-time voters, respectively. Delhi has
97,684 first-time voters.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
DOT REFUSES TO CONSIDER SC
VERDICT IN DECIDING TELCO CARTELISATION FINE
The telecom department has rejected Bharti Airtel’s demand to
take note of court observations while deciding whether the regulator can
recommend that three operators should be fined for allegedly colluding and
denying Reliance Jio Infocomm adequate access to their networks. The Digital
Communications Commission, an inter-ministerial panel that is the top decision
making body in the Department of Telecommunications, had sought the views of a
DoT committee on the court rulings, which scrapped a probe into the allegations
of cartelisation. The Competition Commission of India (CCI), acting on a
petition by Jio, had ordered the probe after it found a prima facie case of
cartelisation by Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Idea Cellular. The latter later
merged into Vodafone Idea. The telcos moved Bombay High Court, which quashed
the CCI probe. CCI and Jio then approached the Supreme Court, which upheld the
high court order. The committee within DoT unanimously feels the Supreme
Court’s ruling in December has no bearing on the current matter at hand, a
senior official told. The opinion implies that the telecom regulator has the
jurisdiction to recommend a penalty. DCC will now decide whether to accept or
reject the combined penalty of Rs 3,050 crore proposed to be levied on Airtel,
Vodafone India and Idea Cellular in October 2016. The date of the next DCC
meeting isn’t known. DoT officials clarified that no legal view from the
Attorney General’s office had been sought in this matter so far. Trai had
recommended fines of Rs 1,050 crore each on Bharti Airtel and Vodafone India
for alleged breaches in 21 licensed service areas while Idea Cellular was
penalised Rs 950 crore for the alleged violations in 19 zones.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
NO POLITICAL ADS ON SOCIAL
MEDIA 2-DAY BEFORE POLLS IF BOMBAY HC ORDERS: EC
The Election Commission (EC) told the Bombay High Court on
Friday that it is willing to prohibit any political advertisements on social
media 48 hours before polling day, provided the high court issues such orders.
The EC also told a bench of Chief Justice Naresh Patil and Justice N M Jamdar
that it was going to ensure implementation of all its previous notifications
regulating political advertisements on social media, particularly around the
time of elections. The statement was made by the EC's counsel Pradeep
Rajagopal. Rajagopal submitted that the EC was aware that specific rules were
required to govern advertisements on social media ahead of elections and that
it was going to implement all safeguards to ensure that there were no
obstructions to free and fair elections in the country. The EC will implement
directions passed by it (sic) from time to time with respect to social media
intermediaries, Rajagopal said. It will also issue directions keeping in view
the submissions made by other parties in the PIL on the 48-hour period. If this
court passes orders on prohibitory regulations for social media during this 48
hour period, it will implement them, he said. The HC is likely to take up the
matter for further hearing on Monday.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
ELECTION COMMISSION VIEWS
SOUGHT ON PM-KISAN SCHEME
The government has sought the views of the Election Commission
(EC) about the PM-KISAN scheme in which BJP-ruled states have taken the lead in
sending names of small and marginal landholders who are eligible to receive Rs
6,000 a year in three instalments. Several states, particularly those ruled by
parties other than the BJP, have sent few names or not sent any list of
eligible farmers. Some officials said that it’s best to seek the EC view before
new beneficiaries can be added after the election dates were announced. If the
scheme is put on hold, farmers in most non-BJP ruled states such as West
Bengal, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh would have to wait longer for the benefit,
while others would soon be eligible for the second instalment of Rs 2,000 in
April. More than 65% of the farmers who have received the first instalment are
in BJP-ruled states and a few others including Punjab and southern states.
Sources familiar with the development said the government is waiting for a
response from EC.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
BUREAU OF CIVIL AVIATION
SECURITY ISSUES DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS TO STRENGTHEN SECURITY MEASURES AT
AIRPORTS
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has issued a
detailed Circular to strengthen the Security measures at the airports with an
aim to curb the movement of unauthorized arms, contraband goods, cash/bullion,
etc. This is in the wake of the announcement of Model Code of Conduct for the
forthcoming General Elections 2019. Some of the important instructions are as
follows:
·
Apart from measure to
strengthen the security at the regular commercial airports, special measures
have been introduced to check flights from Uncontrolled/Remote/unserved /
airstrips /aerodromes /Helipads /private airstrips/Waterdromes.
·
Directorate General of
Civil Aviation (DGCA) and AAI/ATC shall inform State Police, BCAS and Income
Tax Department about these flights in advance.
·
The Air Traffic Control
(ATC) shall share records of not only Scheduled Commercial Flights but also
private aircrafts or helicopters to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of the
State and the DEO of the district, in which the airport is located, about the
travel plan of chartered aircrafts or helicopters as early as possible,
preferably half an hour in advance.
·
DGsP of States shall
deploy Police Units to check these flights during Code of Conduct as per
direction of Election Commission and extant rules and regulations of BCAS in
this regards.
·
The operators of all
private aircrafts/Helicopters must declare the contents of the baggage,
suitcases, etc, carried on these flights to CEO of the states, DEOs of the
districts, state police and IT Department.
·
With an aim to keep strict
vigil over movement of cash through all airports Income Tax Department and CISF
will be extended all requisite cooperation for checking and surveillance
activities. This will be over and above what CISF is otherwise doing.
·
Officers of BCAS will be
conducting surprise inspections of these airports to check the compliance of
these instructions.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
GOVT TURNS TO PSBS TO FAST
TRACK REDEVELOPMENT OF RAILWAY STATIONS
To speed up the first phase redevelopment of 42 railways
stations under the Rs 1 trillion programme the government has now adopted a
cluster approach by making five public sector companies in charge of each
cluster. The companies include RITES, Mecon, National Project Construction
Corporation (NPCC), Engineering Projects (India) (EPIL) and Bridge and Roof
Company (India) (B&R). These companies are in the process of finalising
consultants. The stations are pooled in such a way that both land area and
potential footfall are equally balanced, said a person close to the
development. This approach is vital for completion of the station redevelopment
programme as the project saw a lukewarm response from real estate players in
previous tenders. Apart from these 42 pooled stations, Indian Railway Stations
Development Corporation (IRSDC), the nodal agency for station redevelopment,
has already taken up 13 stations for redevelopment. A source added that two
stations – Habibganj (Madhya Pradesh) and Gandhinagar (Gujarat) – may be
commissioned by the end of July. For Gandhinagar, 80 per cent of the work has
been completed while almost 70 per cent of the work is over in Habibganj. On
the other hand, the five PSUs are likely to finalise consultants for at least
25 stations by the end of this month. Among the companies, Mecon, NPCC and EPIL
are in charge of nine stations each.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
DELHI’S POWER DEMAND
LIKELY TO CROSS 7,400MW THIS SUMMER; J&K, NORTHEAST STATES TO RESCUE
With Delhi’s peak power demand likely to exceed 7,400MW this
summer, electricity from Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim among
others are set to light up homes in the national capital In a press release
issued by BSES Friday, the power supply body said it has made adequate arrangements
to meet the power demands of over 42 lakh consumers, which include long-term
power purchase agreements (PPAs) and banking arrangements with states like
Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Meghalaya, Manipur and
Sikkim. According to Bombay Suburban Electric Supply (BSES), its discoms will
receive up to 865 MW of power through banking arrangements i.e. by using the
residual electrical energy after utilisation by the respective states. Apart
from this, BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL) will also get 100 MW of wind
power from April 2019. Of this 50 MW is already being received, BSES said,
adding that in case of any deficit due to low generation and outages in power
plants, the discoms will purchase short-term power from the exchange. In summer
2018, Delhi’s power demand had for the first time crossed the 7,000 MW mark and
peaked at 7,016MW.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
GOVT SHOULD INTRODUCE
PRICE CONTROL MECHANISM & A STEEL POLICY: EEPC INDIA
Government should introduce price control mechanism and come
out with a steel policy or metal policy, said Engineering Export Promotion
Council (EEPC) India. Ravi Sehgal and EEPC executive director Suranjan Gupta
said the MSME sector has been hit, but certain products are unique which even
China cannot import to United States. They said the pressure is on Indian
exporters to reduce prices as the US feels that the trade is not in the favour
of the United States. Besides, Sehgal stated that the Government should introduce
price control mechanism and come out with a steel policy or metal policy. If
such a policy is introduced, even engineering products exports is likely to
shoot up to $100 million, he added.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIES
CONSTITUTES A COMMITTEE TO EMPANEL INSTITUTES AS SKILL TRAINING PROVIDERS
To scrutinize and empanel institutes as skill training
providers under a scheme that provides incentives to industries for training
prospective employees, the department of industries has constituted a
committee. The committee will be headed by the chief executive officer of Goa
Investment Promotion Board, Vishal Prakash. Under the Goa State Incentives to
Encourage Investments Scheme, 2017, also called Umbrella Scheme, the state
government is willing to reimburse 60% of the training costs incurred for
prospective employees subject to a maximum of Rs 60,000 per employee and Rs 7.2
lakh per industrial unit, per year. After scrutinizing applications, the state committee
will issue a certificate to the eligible institutes under the appropriate
scheme, the notification said. The government is offering the incentives to
industries which take in prospective employees who are trained at these skill
training institutes. Under secretary (industries) A S Mahatme issued the
notification and stated that the committee would devise a standard procedure
for requirements to be met by training institutes which apply for the scheme.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
SAND PRICE ALMOST DOUBLES
IN CHHATTISGARH WITH NEW MINING POLICY
The Chhattisgarh government’s new policy on sand mining had
resulted in a sharp increase in the price of the raw material used in
infrastructure development. Under the new policy announced last month, the
state government had debarred panchayats from excavating sand. The operation
was handed over to state-owned Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Corporation
(CMDC). The new policy however could not be effectively implemented following
technical flaws. Subsequently, supply had been severely affected, leading to a
near two-fold increase in the price of sand. According to building material
suppliers, the price had escalated to Rs 1,750 from Rs 900 per square foot. The
panchayats that were supervising the mining of sand had stopped the operation
while CMDC was not in a position to take over following manpower shortage. As
against the total staff required to run the 450 sand mines across the state,
the CMDC has hardly 10 per cent manpower. The department has decided to
implement the new policy only in seven of the 27 districts following manpower
problem, said a senior official in the mining department. Once the system was
streamlined, it would be implemented in other districts, he said, adding that
the new policy would be effective only in phases.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
MITIGATING THE
VULNERABILITY AS INDIA SLIPS TO NUMBER TWO ON WORLD’S LARGEST IMPORTER OF
MILITARY HARDWARE LIST
India has finally shed the ignominious distinction of being
the largest arms importer in the world after over a decade, having been pipped
by Saudi Arabia to second place. In the latest figures released by SIPRI
(Stockholm Peace and Research Institute), India’s share of defence imports
during the period 2014 to 2018 is pegged at 9.5% (as against Saudi Arabia’s
12%) with a substantial reduction of 24% between this period and the one
immediately preceding it (2009-13). However, this has been more due to
deliveries of high-end hardware having slowed down than any indigenous effort
at self-reliance bearing fruit. This figure could well change again in the next
five year cycle since India has recently signed some big-ticket contracts while
others are being negotiated. Payments for these will commence as they progress.
These include the 5.4 Bn USD contract for the S-400 System, the 3.3 Bn USD
lease of the Akula class submarine ( two of the largest ever contracts signed
with Russia), the Ka-226 helicopters, the recent contract for the AK-203
assault rifles, induction of four Type 1135.6 stealth frigates, delivery of the
36 Rafale aircraft and commencement of the P-75(I) submarine programme etc and
many more at an advanced stage of discussion. In most of these the indigenous
content is minimal. Defence indigenisation has been an avowed goal of the
Government of India for many decades. Successive Defence Ministers have
highlighted this and assured a reversal of the 70:30 ratio of imported hardware
to indigenous hardware but little has changed. This year’s budget is the
lowest, both in real terms and as a percentage of the GDP since 1962 when
Indian troops were pushed into a border conflict with China in the icy heights
of the Himalayas poorly clothed, pathetically equipped and inadequately armed.
Infact, contrary to the political assurances that the defence needs of the
country will never be compromised and money will be made available when
required, unspent money has actually been returned at the end of the financial
year on many occasions because important programmes were processed slower than
they should have. Sub-optimal utilisation of the defence budget, slow decision
making of the Govt, the inefficiency of the Defence Public Sector Undertakings,
the DRDO often flattering to deceive and the lack of accountability of all
these combined has not only led to the Armed forces getting short changed year
after year but has also led to a cascading effect thus now requiring funds far
in excess of those available. The Indian Armed Forces are in dire need of
modernisation and alarming capability deficits exist across the three services.
These have been highlighted at various fora by the senior brass of the Army,
Navy and the Air Force but haven’t got the necessary traction from the
political leadership. The committed liabilities due to procedural delays and
time and cost overruns threaten to swamp the annual budgetary allocations
leaving little room for new programmes to be initiated. If India has to indeed
meaningfully reduce its defence imports without compromising the combat
capability of its Armed Forces, the Defence Ministry has to walk the talk on
indigenisation and self-reliance.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
FM LOGISTIC TO EXPAND
WAREHOUSES, ADD 500 JOBS
France-based FM Logistic on Friday said it plans to invest USD
150 million (a little over ₹ 1,000 crore) over the next five years to set up new
warehouses in India. This amount will be used to focus on multi-client
warehouses, the company said. Jean-Christophe Machet said: I am impressed by
the dynamics of India, and planning to make strategic investments to support
long-term growth. We are confident about our growth and development so we
decided at the board level to invest this significant amount of USD 150 million
for next five years to develop our own facilities. The company plans to expand to
five cities including four metropolitan cities, he added. He said the company
is in the process of negotiating with local and international finance partners
for funding and will also use its own equity. We see a huge untapped potential
in India. The GST reform provides a huge opportunity. FM Logistic plans to
strengthen its position in India by delivering on its post GST strategy of
focusing on developing multi-client warehouses in the most important Indian
Economic Zones, Machet said.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
MR KUMAR APPOINTED AS LIC
CHAIRMAN
The Centre has appointed MR Kumar as the Chairman of the
insurance behemoth Life Insurance Corporation. Kumar will hold the Chairman
post for five years, according to a Personnel Ministry order. Prior to this
elevation, Kumar was Zonal Manager (In-Charge) of North Zone, Delhi. The Centre
has also appointed Vipin Anand and TC Suseel Kumar as the Managing Directors of
LIC for five years. While Suseel Kumar is Zonal Manager (In-Charge) for South
Central Zone, Anand is the Zonal Manager (In-Charge) for Western Zone.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
DEWAN HOUSING FINANCE
DENIES MEDIA REPORT OF CLEAN CHIT BY REGULATOR
Dewan Housing Finance Corp Ltd (DHFL) denied on Thursday a
media report that the country's housing regulator gave it a clean chit after
allegations the mortgage lender had created shell companies to divert funds. A
consortium of 33 lenders, led by Union Bank of India, was said to have given a
clean chit to the company after they heard an independent auditor report in a
meeting on Tuesday. DHFL said in a statement the meeting was called for regular
agenda items and to present the report made by auditor T P Ostwal &
Associates LLP on the allegations made in a media expose. An auditor last week
dismissed media allegations that DHFL had created shell companies to divert
funds, but said the firm's monitoring of loans was inadequate, raising risks
that some of them would turn sour. Any interpretation of the outcome of the
meeting about giving a clean chit to the company by banks or NHB was neither
intended nor mentioned, DHFL said, adding that it is not privy to the NHB
inspection report.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
AVERAGE ECOMM SALARY HIKES
SET TO GO DOWN IN 2019
The gradual maturing of the ecommerce and startup ecosystem,
lower attrition and a decline in overall salary increase budgets are likely to
pull down average salary increments at such companies in the country this
appraisal cycle, top consulting firms say. Compensation experts Aon, Willis
Towers Watson and Mercer estimate average hikes at India’s ecommerce and
startup companies in 2019 to be between 9.5 and 11.5%, a significant step down
from the sector’s heydays. There is a silver lining though: companies will
continue to reward high performers rainmakers, and critical technology and
product talent disproportionately as they use their salary budgets differently
to retain talent in specific skill areas such as digital, analytics, big data
and cloud computing. Some companies such as Cashkaro said they are willing to
give hikes of even 100% to exceptional performers while others will reward them
with employee stock options (ESOPs), bonuses, and rapid career advancement.
This is the natural course of maturity /stability for any industry, Anandorup
Ghose, emerging markets head at Aon, said. There is initially a lot of growth
in business and in pay, etc., fuelled by investor money and so on, and then the
focus gradually shifts towards returns and profitability. Companies reflect
that in managing compensation costs as well. Ecommerce is going through the
same cycle. However, top performers will get much better hikes. Differentiation
between an average performer and a top performer continues to be around 2.2X
which is the highest in India, Ghose said. Aon expects average pay hike in the
ecommerce and startup industry to be 9.5% in 2009, down from 9.8% last year,
while high fliers can expect more than 20% hikes. Wills Towers Watson said
year-onyear increases have seen a southward trend from a high of about 15% in
2014-15 and 2015-16 to about 10-11% now. At the same time, employers are
setting aside 35-40% of their budgets for top performers, said Arvind Usretay,
director, rewards, at Willis Towers Watson India. Ecommerce players are
fine-tuning the salary increment budgets to balance the increasing demand to
hire, manage and retain hot skills from the market, where increases may range
up to 20% for top performers, Usretay said. Experts attribute the slide in
average increments to maturing of ecommerce businesses that has helped
stabilise attrition. Further consolidation is expected in the market, leading
to a more stable environment in salary increments, they said. With each round
of VC funds getting more difficult to secure, and companies under pressure to
ensure ‘sustainable growth’, increments are showing a more stabilised level,
said Mansee Singhal, senior principal — rewards, and consulting leader for
high-tech, mobility, at Mercer. However, the multiplier of average to top
performer could be up to 1.8x of average increment, she said. While several
companies, including Flipkart, OLX, Droom and Urban Ladder, did not share
information, others said key employees would continue to be rewarded
handsomely, especially given the scarcity of top talent and niche skills. At
India’s largest cashback and coupons site, Cashkaro, individuals who have
outperformed their peers may receive hikes of up to 100%, especially if they
are in the initial stages of their career, its cofounder and CEO Swati Bhargava
said. Then there are ESOPs and high-performance bonuses as well to those
driving growth, she said. Paisabazaar.com and Bankbazaar. com said they are
still in the process of finalising increments. I believe this year will be
similar to last year, said Sriram V, chief HR officer at Bankbazaar.com. But
the difference will be sharper between high performance and others. Also, niche
skills will be distinguished separately.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
DGCA MAY BAR JET AIRWAYS
FROM ACCEPTING ADVANCE BOOKINGS BEYOND A PERIOD
Aviation regulator DGCA may bar beleaguered carrier Jet
Airways from taking advance bookings beyond a particular period amid a
drastically reduced capacity and massive flight cancellations, an official said
Thursday. As per the official, Jet Airways has been flying only 61 of the 116
planes it has in the fleet, forcing it to cancel as much as 45 percent of its
total flights per day. Jet Airways operates over 600 flights within Indian and
overseas. We may ask Jet Airways not to accept forward bookings beyond a
particular period a senior DGCA official told Thursday. The comments came in
the wake of the full service carrier announcing on its website sale at an
starting all-inclusive fares of Rs 1,165 for travel to 37 domestic destinations
with one-year travel period validity under a discount scheme. The official also
said that a final decision on the issue will be taken after seeking a report from
Jet Airways.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
MODI’S INDIA DEFYING
DONALD TRUMP THREATS, STILL EMERGED AS A BIG TRADING NATION
Donald Trump has recently announced his intention to withdraw
India’s Generalised System Preferences (GSP) benefit status, due to lack of
reciprocity. Amid this, India is again being questioned for its anti-trade
policies However, an analysis shows that even after defying global standards of
liberal trade, India has emerged as a big trading nation Indian economy is
becoming fairly trade dependent and stands right in the middle of world’s seven
largest country in terms of trade to GDP ratio — even ahead of China, said
Richard Rossow,. Modi government has from time to time shown a reluctance to
pursue liberal trade policies, Rossow said. In 2014, the government delayed the
implementation of Trade Facilitation Agreement and also refused to remove farm
subsidies, under the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Further, the government
has withdrawn various pending trade deals, increased customs duty and imposed
import-substitution rules. However, these steps have not deterred India’s
progress in trade integration, said Rossow. India’s trade to GDP ratio stands
at 41.7 per cent according to the data of World Bank and its total trade equals
to around 40 per cent of the GDP. Moreover, India’s overall exports in
April-January 2018-19 are estimated to be $439.98 billion, showing a positive
growth of 9.07 per cent over the same period last year, according to Ministry of
Commerce. The growth is primarily on the back of increased exports of
chemicals, drugs and pharmaceuticals, ready-made garments, gems and jewellery
and engineering goods. Moreover, India is the world leader in information
technology services market. Further, overall imports in April-January 2018-19
are estimated to be $530.55 billion, showing a positive growth of 10.74 per
cent over the same period last year, according to the commerce ministry.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
ECI CONDUCTS DAY LONG
SESSIONS TO BRIEF THE GENERAL, POLICE AND EXPENDITURE OBSERVERS FOR THE
FORTHCOMING ELECTIONS
As a run up to the forthcoming Elections to the Lok Sabha and
Legislative Assemblies to four States, the Election Commission of India organized
the 1st Briefing for Observers to be deployed in the Poll going States. Over
1800 senior officers drawn from IAS, IPS officers as also from Indian Revenue
Service and few other Central Services attended the briefing meeting. These
officers are being deployed as General, Police and Expenditure Observers.
Reminding the Observers of their crucial role, the Chief Election Commissioner
Sh Sunil Arora pointed out that the officers need to be earnest and have no
choice but to ensure that no mistakes are committed. Sh Arora recalled that in
the recent State elections held, it took all of miniscule percentages of
instances of slippages in following the laid down protocol for EVM-VVPAT
procedures or missing out of few names from Electoral Roll, or delay in Counting
of votes, rendering all other good work done in the background. He reminded the
officers that ECI, set up as a unique institution since 1950 to function as the
very bedrock of democratic process, associates officers from varied fields to
help conduct the elections as per well defined duties. CEC emphasised that
while discharging the onerous duties as Observers while officers observe the
electoral process, the ECI observes these officers to ensure that they
sincerely discharge the assigned duties. Sh Arora noted that with changed
times, concerns about abuse of money power and also social media are posing
newer challenges. He said the endeavour of ECI is not only to conduct free and
fair elections but also transparent, clean and ethical elections. Election
Commissioner Sh Ashok Lavasa reminded the group that as Observers, they need to
ensure implementation of all instructions of the ECI in letter and spirit. Sh
Lavasa mentioned that the recently launched CVigil App has helped empower every
citizen also to help the Commission keep a vigilant eye out for Model Code
violations. But availability of this App has itself put more responsibility on
officers managing and overseeing the electoral system. He reiterated that the
Observers need to be accessible and available to all stakeholders on the ground
as the officers are literally the extended arms of ECI in the field. Sushil
Chandra drew the attention of the Officers that as Observers their role is to
be eyes and ears of the Commission in keeping a watchful eye and to take all
preventive measures to ensure free and fair elections. He pointed out that the
role of Expenditure Observers becomes crucial when methods of inducements to
voters are becoming very innovative too. Comprehensive publications unveiled by
the Commission, namely compilation of all thematic presentations on different
subjects of Election Management, State/UT profiles and National Election
Planner and Compendium of Instructions on Election Expenditure Monitoring were
provided to the Observers to facilitate their work. ECI for the first time has
also started a new mobile app called ‘Observer App’. Using this App, General,
Police and Expenditure observers can submit their Observer's report securely to
ECI to upload the relevant document from the mobile app. The Observers will get
all important notifications, alerts, and urgent messages on this App while they
are on duty. It will also facilitate observers to get their deployment status,
download the ID card and update their profile. Since the observers will be
closely involved in real-time disposal of the cVIGIL Model code and expenditure
violation cases, this App would help see all the cVIGIL cases under their
jurisdiction. The Observers can make a written observation after the flying
squads have investigated the matter. Observers are put on deputation with ECI
for the entire duration of the election process.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
GOVT MAY RECEIVE RS 2600
CR MORE FROM COAL INDIA AS SECOND INTERIM DIVIDEND
After receiving more than Rs 11,500 crore from Coal India, the
centre is further expected to receive around Rs. 2,600 crore more from this
Maharatna company after the mining mammoth has decided to offer its second
round of interim dividend at Rs. 5.85 per share. Company estimates suggest that
the total outgo on account of this second round of dividend is to the tune of
Rs 3,605 crore which it will start to pay March 29 onwards. After three rounds
of stake sales, the Centre currently holds 72.92 per cent in Coal India while
the rest is held by public shareholders. This projected payment to the
government is exclusive of another ongoing share buyback programme undertaken
by the company which will be completed on March 15. From this buyback too, the
government is expected to receive a substantial sum of money. The maximum size
of this buyback is Rs 1,050 crore. This buyback is also likely to marginally
alter the shareholding structure of the company and thus the exact amount of
payment to the government and the public shareholders couldn’t be ascertained.
In December, 2018, this public sector enterprise had paid a total amount of Rs.
4500 crore as its first interim dividend from which the government is projected
to have received around Rs 3280 crore. However, the divided this time is 19 per
cent lower as compared to the first interim dividend of Rs 7.25 per share which
the company offered in the current fiscal year.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
INDIA SEEKS VISA-FREE
ACCESS FOR PILGRIMS TO KARTARPUR SHRINE
During the Kartarpur meeting on Thursday, India sought
visa-free access for 5,000 pilgrims per day to Kartarpur gurdwara in Pakistan.
India also suggested that pilgrims be allowed to travel on foot to Kartarpur
shrine, and that the corridor should remain open for seven days a week. SCL
Das, said that India emphasised that in the spirit of Kartarpur corridor, it
should be absolutely visa-free. There should not be any additional encumbrances
in the form of any additional documentation or procedures, he added. We have
also strongly urged them to allow the visit of pilgrims for all seven days a
week without any break, he said after the meeting. It was agreed to hold the
next meeting at Wagah on April 2 and it will be preceded by a meeting of the
technical experts on March 19 at the proposed zero points to finalise the
alignment of the corridor, according to the statement.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
'MANMOHAN WAS NOT AS
STRONG AS MODI IN DEALING WITH TERROR', SAYS SHEILA DIKSHIT; LATER CLARIFIES
Delhi Congress chief Sheila Dikshit on Thursday said that
former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's reaction after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks
was not as strong and determined perhaps as that of PM Narendra Modi after the
Pulwama strike. She, however, added that PM Modi does everything for politics.
The Delhi Congress chief, however, took to Twitter to clarify her statement
saying that her comments made in an interview were being twisted. Here is what
I said - it may seem to some people that Mr Modi is stronger on terror but I
think this is a poll gimmick more than anything else. Dikshit further tweeted,
I also added that national security has always been a concern and Indira ji has
been a strong leader. Her comments could come as a huge embarrassment to the
Congress just ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Amit Shah took a dig at the
Congress and thanked Dikshit for reiterating what the nation already knows.
Shah tweeted: Thank you @SheilaDikshit ji for reiterating what the nation
already knows but the Congress party is never ready to admit. Expressing shock
over Delhi Congress president Sheila Dikshit's remark, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)
chief Arvind Kejriwal said that it only hinted at something cooking between the
BJP and Congress. Congress has been accusing the BJP of politicising the
Balakot air strikes carried out by India in Pakistan. Countering the
opposition, PM Modi has been questioning why the then UPA government did not
respond as strongly after November 2008 attacks.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
RAHUL GANDHI ACCUSES PM
NARENDRA MODI OF LISTENING ONLY TO AMBANI, NIRAV MODI
Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of ignoring voices of
farmers, fishermen and small businessmen Rahul Gandhi Thursday said the NDA
government listened only to industrialists such as Anil Ambani and Nirav Modi.
Gandhi said in India, the most important thing is giving voice to the people.
Anil Ambani or Nirav Modi has a lot of voice. Whatever they want to say to the prime
minister can do so in 10 seconds. And they don't have to shout. They can even
whisper it and the message goes whereas farmers, fishermen and small
businessmen they have to shout very loudly before the government listens to
them, he said. Gandhi said he was talking about the dishonest people associated
with Modi and it is really the fight between Congress and Modi. He also alleged
the dishonest people help Modi in marketing himself Taking a dig at Modi, he
said, I don't call Anil Ambani Anil Bhai, I don't call Nirav Modi Nirav Bhai, I
don't call Mehul Choksi Mehul Bhai. He also took a dig at Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley for allegedly meeting industrialist Vijay Mallya, accused of defaulting
on banks loans, before he fled the country. Assuring fishermen that he would
fulfil the promise if the Congress wins, the Congress chief said, I am not like
Narendra Modi. I don't make fake promises.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
‘SACHA HAI, ACHA HAI,
CHALO NITISH KE SAATH’: JD-U LAUNCHES SLOGAN FOR LOK SABHA POLLS, BANKS ON
NITISH’S ‘HONEST’ IMAGE
‘Sacha hai, acha hai, chalo Nitish ke saath’ is the message of
the posters released at the JD(U) state headquarters on Wednesday. The subtext
‘Sankalp hamara NDA dobara (our resolve, NDA again) is also there but relegated
to a corner, in smaller fonts.’ Ram Chandra Prasad Singh said We want to convey
the message to the voters that Nitish Kumar is a man who fulfils the promises
he makes and does not lie Kumar has called the shots in the party ever since it
came into being a couple of decades ago but formally took over as its president
only in 2016 when he relieved Sharad Yadav, now in a sulk and out of the party
and struggling to find a foothold in the opposition Grand Alliance, of the
post. A year before he assumed the top post in the party, Kumar had made a
record of sorts by romping home as chief minister for the third consecutive
term. The shift of focus from the celebration of the states economic turnaround
to the chief ministers honesty comes at a time when Kumar faces a trust deficit
in the wake of his volte face of 2017 when he resigned guided by his inner
voice but formed a new government less than 24 hours later, dumping his
pre-poll allies and joining hands with the BJP, which he had bitterly fought.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
CONGRESS TO DEPLOY NAVJOT
SINGH SIDHU AS STAR CAMPAIGNER IN LOK SABHA POLLS
Known for his trademark witty one-liners, Punjab minister
Navjot Singh Sidhu will be one of the star campaigners for the Congress in the
Lok Sabha poll hustings, a senior party leader said. He has a way of connecting
with the audience and has campaign value, the party’s Punjab affairs in-charge
Asha Kumari said. The cricketer-turned politician had aggressively campaigned
for the party in the Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Chhattisgarh
assembly elections for 17 days, injuring his vocal cords in the process. He was
advised by doctors to take complete rest.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
HEALTH MINISTRY TAKES
STOCK OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH MEASURES FOR CONTROLLING WEST NILE VIRUS
A section of the media has reported that a seven year old boy
from Malappuram District of Kerala is suffering from a West Nile Virus (WNV), a
mosquito-borne disease, mostly reported in the continental United States. Union
Minister of Health and Family Welfare is closely monitoring the situation and
has spoken to the State Health Minister of Kerala in this regard. He has
directed for all support to be extended to Kerala in its prevention and
management. Shri Rajeev Sadanandan, Kerala and reviewed the situation. The
Health Ministry has dispatched a multi-disciplinary Central team from National
Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). The Indian Council of Medical Research
(ICMR) has also been alerted and a close watch is being maintained at Central
and State level. There are no reports available so far for spread of this virus
in other parts of the country.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
AHMEDABAD: 24 OF 347 FOOD
SAMPLES FAIL LABORATORY TEST
This year, the food flying squad of the health department has
collected 347 food samples for laboratory testing. Out of which 24 samples
failed the laboratory test declared the health department of Ahmedabad
Municipal Corporation (AMC) on Wednesday. Declared failed food samples include
milk products like ghee, mawa, paneer, candies, halawa snacks like chips, soy
chips, namkeen, gathiya, sev etc were found misbranded or substandard. According
to the health officials, they are collecting such food samples to know the
quality of food being served to the citizens. Compared to an earlier time,
nowadays it is very rare to find adulterated food. Every week, we are going to
different pockets. Before festival time we collect those samples which are
being consumed at large, said Dr Bhavin Solanki. Dr Solanki further said that
it is mandatory to have FSSAI license those who are into the food business. It
is t be noted that a famous eatery Jassi De Parathe located in Vastrapur was
found to be operating without a license.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
MUMBAI: 174 FOOD DELIVERY
AGENTS BOOKED FOR TRAFFIC VIOLATION
In an attempt to bring down the number of offences pertaining
from rash driving to jumping traffic signals, the Mumbai Traffic Police (MTP)
has started to penalise errant riders of food delivery applications. A day
after executives of food delivery applications were summoned by senior traffic
officials to make them adhere to traffic norms, the cops on Tuesday booked
total 174 riders for violating rules The Regional Transport Office (RTO) have
also been requested to cancel the license of repeat offenders. The traffic
police have started issuing e-challans against the defaulters and are ready to
take all possible action in order to reduce complaints that have been pouring
in on social media as well as reported by consumers commenting on the feedback
walls of app-based food delivery platforms. The reckless food delivery boys
have been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Motor
Vehicles Act for illegal parking, riding without helmets, jumping signals,
speeding, rash driving, entering the wrong lane among others, said a police
officer. Amitesh Kumar, said, Action was long overdue after we received
complaints of delivery boys riding on the footpaths to deliver the food within
the deadline. Traffic police have already asked the food delivery companies to
set a realistic deadline and not violate the laws to keep their unrealistic
promises. Furthermore, the police asked food delivery apps to not hire these
habitual traffic rule violators or agents involved in other offences, so that
the menace was brought under control. Representatives of food-ordering apps
were asked to educate their delivery agents on traffic rules and conduct
regular counselling and training sessions for them. Moreover, police have also
asked the owners to disconnect the apps of the riders who are habitual
offenders and have e-challans served to them. A senior traffic police officer
said licence of the habitual offenders, who are caught breaking traffic rules,
will be cancelled.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
MAHARASHTRA GOVERNMENT
SEEKS MORE TIME TO LIST DABHOL-ENRON DEAL HANDLERS
Maharashtra government will appeal to the Supreme Court to
seek more time for submitting its affidavit about the names of officers who
handled matters related to the Enron-Dabhol deal. The government is also
supposed to submit a list of members of a high-level committee chaired by
former bureaucrat Madhav Godbole. The panel had analysed the power purchase
agreement between Dabhol Power Corporation (DPC, now Ratnagiri Gas & Power
Pvt Ltd, or RGPPL), and related documents. The matter, which came up for
hearing before a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, will be heard on
Thursday. A state energy department officer told, We have sought from various
departments and the former Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) the names
of officers involved in the planning to commission the Enron-Dabhol project. We
are also seeking a list of officers involved after the project was dumped and
revived in 1996, and again in 2006 after the transfer of assets to RGPPL.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
GOVT TO WORK ON SEED
TRACEABILITY MECHANISM
With spurious and low quality seeds swarming the markets
causing extensive damage to farmers’ incomes, the Centre has decided to bring
in a mechanism to ensure traceability of seeds The government will discuss the
issue with stakeholders, including the seed producers, to come out with a
technology-based solution that will help farmers to trace the origin of the
seed that they had purchased. When a farmer buys a seed, he should know its
origin till the foundation seed, Sanjay Agarwal, said. He said the Union
government will involve State governments and the industry to create a
mechanism for traceability with a timeframe. Stating that there are about 130
seed testing and certification centres in the country, he said all these labs
needed to be linked. He also wanted the government to take measures to control
Fall Armyworm which has affected the maize crop extensively. The NSAI President
also pointed out at the menace of HT cotton (herbicide-tolerant), which
accounted for about 10 per cent of the cotton area in the country. Though the
area under these illegal seeds has not grown beyond 10 per cent, it has become
a problem for organised players. We are facing allegations due to contamination
of the seed, he said.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
‘PINK BOLLWORM IS OUT OF
CONTROL IN INDIA’
That pink bollworm has developed resistance to Cry1Ac and
Cry2Ab (or Bollgard-II) — the two biotech solutions currently available in
India to tackle pink bollworm — is no news. Virulent attack of the pest is
destroying the fibre crop on lakhs of acres across the country, particularly in
the West, Central and Southern parts. An American pink bollworm expert says that
it is impossible to tackle the menace with the current two Bt toxins being used
in the country. It has gone out of control. It’s too late. Too little, he
points out, when asked about the likely control mechanisms. The two genes that
are being used in India are now ineffective. The resistance is widespread.
There is no way we can set the clock back if we use these two Bt toxins, Bruce
Tabashnik, told. It, however, is not the end of the road. There is a way out,
he asserts. Use all tools. For now, shorten cotton season, destroy crop
residues, go for deep summer ploughing, crop rotation, mating disruption,
insecticides based on scouting and thresholds, he points out. He recommends a
multi-layered approach to address the challenge. Besides deploying a new set of
Bt toxins into the seed, two or more at a time, with 20 per cent non-Bt seeds
as refugia, and integrated pest management system (IPM) could be an effective
solution for cotton in India. Citing the example of Arizona, he said sterile
bollworm moths were released in large numbers on the fields, far outnumbering
the worms that were resistant to the technology.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
VEDANTA TO SHUT NAMIBIAN
ZINC REFINERY FOR FIVE WEEKS
Vedanta Zinc International, a unit of diversified miner
Vedanta Resources, said on Thursday it would close its Skorpion Zinc Refinery
in Namibia for five weeks after a strike by its mining contractor depleted
stocks. During the strike period, the Skorpion Refinery continued to run which
led to ore stocks being depleted It has therefore been decided to shut the
refinery for a period of five weeks to allow the mine to rebuild adequate stock
levels, a Vedanta Zinc International spokesman said.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
INDIANS TO BENEFIT AS UK
LIFTS CAP ON PHD-LEVEL WORK VISAS
Indians are among the largest group of professionals set to
benefit from a new UK government plan to remove any limit on the number of
PhD-level work visas to be granted. UK Chancellor Philip Hammond announced on
Wednesday in a Budget update, referred to as the annual Spring Statement, that
from later this year all such highly-qualified roles will be exempt from any
cap on the numbers that can apply and come to work in Britain. [A] key pillar
of our plan is backing Britain to remain at the forefront of the technology
revolution that is transforming our economy. And to support that ambition, from
this Autumn we will completely exempt PhD-level roles from the visa caps,
Hammond said in his speech in the House of Commons. From Autumn 2019, PhD-level
occupations will be exempt from the Tier 2 (General) cap, and at the same time
the government will update the immigration rules on 180-day absences so that
researchers conducting fieldwork overseas are not penalised if they apply to
settle in the UK, he added in his statement. Indian nationals also marked the
largest increase in the grant of Tier 2 visas last year, up by 6 per cent at
3,023 more visas compared to the previous year. Currently, only a limited
number of visas are issued every year under the Tier 2 skilled worker section
of the visa system. The government's latest announcement is seen as the first
step towards the complete removal of a cap on visas for skilled workers in
2021, when a new immigration system comes into force.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
TATA RETAINS TOP SPOT, JIO
PROPELS RIL TO 2ND RANK, ADAG EXITS
Tata and Reliance-led by a robust performance from TCS and Jio
respectively are the top two most valuable brands of 2019 followed by Airtel at
the third spot, Interbrand’s latest ranking of India’s top 40 brands showed.
The companies that made exit this year are Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group
(R-ADAG) and Canara Bank. The list, which previously was dominated by the
automotive, diversified businesses and financial services sectors, sees retail
companies making their presence felt in its sixth edition. Interband had
released its last list of top Indian brands in November 2017. While tech services
major TCS helped Tata to retain top spot, even as the brand value grew by a
mere 6.5 per cent, Jio’s phenomenal growth supported Reliance to consolidate
its ranking at the second place after it took over the spot from Airtel last
year, Interband said. HDFC Bank, LIC, State Bank of India, Infosys, Mahindra,
ICICI Bank and Godrej are others in the top 10.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
ETIHAD UNLIKELY TO GET ON
BOARD WITH JET AIRWAYS BAILOUT PLAN
Etihad Airways PJSC is unlikely to agree to a provisional debt
resolution plan proposed by lenders for the crisis-hit Jet Airways (India) Ltd,
said two people directly aware of the development. A meeting of the board of
Etihad in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday remained inconclusive, with several members
expressing reservations about the terms proposed by the lenders that included
adding two nominee directors from the promoter group of Jet Airways, led by
founder Naresh Goyal, the people cited above said on condition of anonymity.
Another contentious issue was Goyal’s demand for exclusion of the perpetuity
clause which capped Goyal’s shareholding to 22%, said one of the two people
cited above. The provisional pact envisaged a new investor injecting between ₹1,600
crore and ₹1,900 crore for about 20% in Jet Airways and the Goyal-led
promoter group’s stake falling to 17.1%, with a caveat seeking to cap it at
22%. An early resolution to the financial woes is crucial for Jet Airways. More
than 50 of the airline’s 119 planes are currently grounded by lessors due to
non-payment of lease rentals, while it has delayed salaries to pilots and
interest payments on its debt.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
PROJECTS SOLD WITHOUT NOD:
RERA NOTICE TO REALTOR
The Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (H-Rera) on
Wednesday, issued a showcause notice to troubled developer Supertech for four
projects registered under H-Rera, in which it has claimed that sales had been
initiated without due permissions. The authority has directed the developer to
respond to the notice within a week, asking why penal action shouldn’t be
initiated against it. Under sections 15(1) and 61 of the Real Estate
(Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, a developer has to seek permission from
the authority before it can start selling a project. Section 15(1) says the
promoter shall not transfer or assign his majority rights and liabilities in
respect of a real estate project to a third party, without obtaining prior
written consent from two-thirds of all allottees, except the promoter, and
without prior written approval of the authority. If the developer fails to
comply, it shall be liable to a penalty which may be extended up to 5% of the
estimated cost of the project. In case of the four projects under scrutiny, two
of which are in Gurgaon with two others in Sohna, H-Rera has proposed a
consolidated penalty of Rs 85 crore. R K Arora, said, We’ve not sold any land
in Gurgaon as reported. Yet, without any concrete evidence, H-Rera has issued a
showcause notice accusing Supertech of selling out or agreeing to sell out the
said projects. As a response has been sought from us, we will certainly do so
with all facts and evidence.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
INVESTORS SAY TODAY'S CEOS
AREN'T FIT TO HANDLE TOMORROW'S TASKS: STUDY
Two-thirds of investors believe today’s private-sector
leadership is unfit to handle future challenges That sobering statistic comes
from a survey done by consulting firm Korn Ferry as part of a larger study on
whether leaders have qualities that will allow them to handle challenges in
coming years and decades. A majority of leaders can’t make decisions and take
smart actions quickly enough, motivate people effectively, or build trust — all
of which is needed to ensure their organization’s survival into the future,
Korn Ferry said. According to the survey, 67% of investors believe the current
leadership stock isn’t fit for the future. At the country level, the figures
were 82 percent in China, 70 percent in the US, with Singapore coming in at 51
percent. Investors are looking at, ‘Who can tell me the growth story I want to
believe? Dennis Baltzley, Korn Ferry’s global solution leader for leadership
development, said. They do care about the talent and the bench of upcoming
leaders, he said.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
INVESTORS TURN BULLISH ON
INDIAN RUPEE, LONG ON MOST ASIAN CURRENCIES: SURVEY
Investors are bullish on the Indian rupee for the first time
in nearly a year, a Reuters poll showed, as a recent surge in popularity of the
country's ruling party is expected to bode well for its alliance in the
upcoming national elections. Long bets on the rupee returned after early April
last year, the poll of 11 respondents showed, with investors regaining some of
their lost appetite for the currency that was the worst Asian performer in 2018
with a more than 8 percent loss to the dollar. Political analysts say the
anti-Pakistan wave has become a rallying point for his Hindu-nationalist BJP
after India's armed forces clashed with its neighbour last month. Foreign
inflows into Indian equities and debt markets have surged with $1.78 billion
pouring in this month as of March 12. That compares with inflows of $1.58
billion in February and $788 million outflows in January, according to National
Stock Exchange data. Long positions in the yuan remained intact for over two
months now, and strongest in the region in the current poll, despite a slew of
poor economic data from China pointing to a slowdown. Investors pinned their
hopes on the progress in China's trade talks with the United States, and the
sentiment was also aided by additional tax cuts and infrastructure spending
announced by the Chinese government. Investment picked up speed in the world's
second largest economy in the first two months of the year as the government
fast-tracked more road and rail projects, data showed on Thursday. Investors
held bearish positions on the Korean won for a fourth consecutive poll with
short positions on the currency at their highest since November last year as
Asia's fourth-largest economy continues to reel under further cooling of demand
from its major market China.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
JIO TO SPEED UP 5G
ROLLOUTS TO WIDEN TECHNOLOGY GAP WITH AIRTEL, VODA IDEA
Reliance Jio Infocomm is likely to speed up its 5G services
rollout by the second-half of calendar 2020 to stop rivals Vodafone Idea and
Bharti Airtel from gaining scale on the 4G front and benefitting from any
4G-led data monetisation, SBICap Securities has said. Jio’s early 5G move, it
said, is likely to be driven by the mega capital raise plans recently announced
by Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel towards boosting 4G capacity. Rajiv Sharma,
co-head of research at SBICap Securities, expects the 5G spectrum auction to
happen by January 2020. Jio has been the only telco keen on buying 5G airwaves
at the prices recommended by the telecom regulator and has backed an early sale.
Bharti Airtel, on the contrary, has sought a cut in the price of some sub-GHz
bands and is averse to an early 5G spectrum sale. Vodafone Idea too has
suggested the 5G spectrum sale be pushed back to next year. Since Bharti Airtel
and VIL are seen raising as much as Rs 50,000 crore from their planned rights
issues and imminent (tower) asset sales, both incumbents are expected to narrow
the gap with Jio on 4G services front in all key urban markets.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
STANCHART LOSES TWO TOP
INDIA BANKERS AMID TURNAROUND EFFORTS
Standard Chartered Plc., which is trying to cut costs in India
and boost returns from its push into consumer banking, has lost two key
executives in the South Asia region. Gopikrishnan MS, who heads foreign
exchange, rates and credit for South Asia, and Shyamal Saxena, who oversees the
region’s retail business, have decided to leave the bank a Standard Chartered
spokesman said by email. Senior-level departures at the local unit kicked off
this year when Sandeep Das, who was in charge of private banking, moved to
oversee the India wealth management business of rival Barclays Plc. India is
among four countries across Asia and the Middle East chosen by the lender as
the focus of a new plan to reduce costs and engineer a turnaround. The UK bank
has provided for a bulk of the bad loans made to Indian corporates before Zarin
Daruwala took over as chief executive officer of the local unit in November
2015. Daruwala has been trying to build its retail business through steps
including digitization and faster approvals for credit cards and personal
loans. India made the biggest contribution to Standard Chartered’s pre-tax
profit as recently as 2010, before falling behind Hong Kong, Singapore, China and
Korea as a key driver of earnings, according to an exchange filing last month.
The lender has the biggest presence among foreign banks in India, with about
100 branches, and has operated in the country for more than 160 years.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
KING OF INDIAN BOND SALES
WARNS OF THE BIGGEST CRISIS SINCE LEHMAN
Shashikant Rathi, who has dominated India’s local bond
underwriting business for over a decade at Axis Bank, says the industry now
faces its biggest challenge since the global financial crisis Shock defaults
since last year by shadow bank IL&FS and a new electronic bidding platform
have disrupted the $108 billion India bond market where underwriters like Rathi
help companies raise money by selling debt securities. Sales of rupee corporate
bonds that tend to pay the highest fees have fallen this quarter to a 2016 low.
The market is in complete chaos, Rathi, the 41-year-old executive vice
president and head of treasury and markets at Axis Bank in Mumbai, said. I
haven’t seen such a crisis since the 2008 Lehman bankruptcy. A surprise rate
cut by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last month and expectations of further
easing as early as April haven’t lowered funding costs much, with bond yields
near the highest levels since 2009. It may take until after Lok Sabha elections
in May for the bond market to settle down and issuance to pick up, says Rathi.
The bumps have slowed India’s drive to make the local corporate bond market
bigger. Rathi is trying to weather it by doing what he’s always done, using
long-standing relationships to arrange more deals. India’s corporate bond
market remains puny compared with the funding needs of the $2.6 trillion
economy and big issuers are still for the most part limited to quasi-state
enterprises. Policymakers are trying to change that. Starting April, large
companies will be required to meet 25% of their annual funding requirements
from the bond market. Overall rupee bond sales have risen nearly 15% so far
this year, but that’s mainly driven by issuance by state firms that don’t tend
to pay underwriting fees. Deals that bankers rely on to earn commissions
involving notes without AAA ratings have dropped 49% this quarter from the last
three months of 2018, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Rathi hails from
the Marwari community in Rajasthan, a community that counts among its own other
business notables including billionaires Kumar Mangalam Birla and Lakshmi
Mittal. A chartered accountant, Rathi is a fan of the investment style of
Howard Marks, the co-founder of Oaktree Capital Group.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
GOOGLE UPS EFFORTS TO
CHECK MISINFORMATION AHEAD OF LOK SABHA ELECTIONS
Not just Facebook and Twitter, Google is also making an effort
to ensure the authenticity of information on its advertisements and video
platform as India heads towards General Elections in less than a month. On
Thursday, the company said it is ensuring authoritative news content gets
better play on YouTube, where videos have seen growth in watch time triple for
content from authoritative sources in the last two years, said Tim Katz, the
video platform’s director of news partnerships. YouTube, which is owned by
Google, is ensuring there is news from credible sources that is put on the
platform, with enough context. With elections less than a month away, the
Indian government has been trying to address the issue of misinformation and
fake news spreading through social media and messaging platforms such as
WhatsApp. Recently, the Parliamentary Committee on information technology met
with senior executives of Facebook and Twitter and the Election Commission has
also said social media platforms have committed to help check the spread of
fake news in the run up to elections. The video platform has introduced fact
checks to its panels in India, just below the search results, which relies on
and open ecosystem of publishers and fact checking experts. It is currently
available in Engligh and will shortly be available in Hindi.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
WHATSAPP CO-FOUNDER URGES
DELETING FACEBOOK ACCOUNTS
Speaking publicly about his differences with Facebook,
WhatsApp's co-founder Brian Acton urged Stanford University students to delete
their Facebook accounts as he explained his reasons for selling the app to Mark
Zuckerberg in the first place. We give them the power. That's the bad part. We
buy their products. We sign up for these websites. Delete Facebook, right?
Acton was quoted as saying. Acton started WhatsApp with co-founder Jan Koum.
Facebook acquired the messaging service in 2014 for $22 billion. I had 50
employees and I had to think about them and the money they would make from this
sale. I had to think about our investors and I had to think about my minority
stake. I didn't have the full clout to say no if I wanted to, Acton added.
Previously, in an interview with Forbes, Acton had explained that a
disagreement on monetising WhatsApp was the reason he quit Facebook and gave up
$850 million on the table. At the end of the day, I sold my company. I sold my
users' privacy. I made a choice and a compromise. I live with that every day,
Forbes had quoted Acton as saying.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
BAD ADS REPORT: GOOGLE
BANNED 2.3 BILLION MISLEADING ADVERTISEMENTS IN 2018
Aiming to make the web a better place by protecting users from
misleading and inappropriate ads, Google on Thursday announced it banned 2.3
billion misleading ads that violated its advertising policies in 2018 and
introduced 31 new policies. In its 2018 Bad Ads Report, the Internet giant said
six million bad ads were banned everyday. At Google, we take our responsibility
to help create a healthy and sustainable advertising ecosystem that works for
everyone, seriously. Our ads are meant to connect users with relevant
businesses, products and services; but bad ads ruin the experience. We, at
Google, have been working towards protecting the users, advertisers and
publishers by investing significant technological resources, Scott Spencer,
said in a statement. Through its Bad Ads Report, the tech titan shares key
actions and data to keep the ecosystem safe through its policies across
platforms. This will continue to remain our top priority as bad ads pose a
threat to users, Google's partners, and the sustainability of the open web
itself, Spencer added. The company also identified and terminated almost one
million bad advertiser accounts, which is nearly double the amount that were
terminated in 2017. Nearly 734,000 publishers and app developers were
terminated from the Google ad network and ads were removed completely from
nearly 1.5 million apps. Google also took more granular action by taking ads
off nearly 28 million pages that violated the publisher policies.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
DREAM11 IS OFFICIAL VIVO
IPL PARTNER, WILL MANAGE LEAGUE'S FANTASY GAME
This collaboration will provide a platform for fans to create
their own fantasy cricket teams thereby deepening their engagement with the
sport and the league. There will also be several Dream11 brand integrations and
on-ground activations at various touch-points during the Vivo IPL matches. Harsh
Jain, said, We are very excited to partner with the BCCI and provide an
engaging cricketing experience for the IPL, which is the pinnacle of sports
leagues in India. Dream11 is deeply integrating with the IPL, which is set to
grow from its 1.4 billion TV impressions and 200 million online viewers in
2018, to achieve our goal of growing from 51 million users to 100 million users
in 2019. It’s great to see how our dream of making fantasy sports intrinsic to
sports fan engagement has come true. Committee of Administrators (CoA) of BCCI
said, The online viewership of IPL is growing each year and it’s essential for
us to engage with the fans on digital platforms as well. Partnering with the
biggest fantasy sports platform in India, Dream11 will help us in further
increasing the popularity of the IPL amongst cricket fans. As per the 2018
IFSG-AC Nielsen report, India has approximately 800 million sports fans, of
which 300 million sports fans consume cricket online. According to the 2019
IFSG - KPMG report, fantasy cricket is the most widely played (71 per cent
respondents) online fantasy sports game and the primary motivation (72 per cent
respondents) for playing fantasy.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
INFRA GROWTH, CLEAR
BACKLOG OF DEFENCE BUYS TO BE PRIORITIES: ARUN JAITLEY
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Friday the government’s
priority would be infrastructure development and clearing the backlog of
defence procurement, among others. Development of rural India, and improvement
of health care and education would be the other priority areas, he said. In
future we have four priorities — rural India, backlog of defence procurement,
health care and education, and of course infrastructure, he said. Jaitley
added: I foresee a better quality of life in urban slums, rural India, and the
policies must be aimed at allowing these people to aspire, and get into at
least the neo-middle class. Two areas where we seriously need to concentrate
are health care and education, he said.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
TRUST BETWEEN GOVT AND
BUSINESS COMMUNITY ERODED: MANMOHAN SINGH
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday said the trust
between the government and the business community has been eroded as they have
been made to feel the wrath of coercive agencies. He said this hostile
atmosphere will not just sap the confidence of Indian businessmen but will also
create doubts in the minds of foreign governments and businessmen. Of late,
many negative perceptions have been manufactured about business leaders. The
business community, big and small, has been made to feel the wrath of coercive
agencies. A hostile narrative has been built; this will sap not only the
confidence of our own business leaders it will also create doubts in the mind
of foreign governments and business leaders. Honest businessman and genuine
entrepreneur must never be allowed to feel harassed by the petty revenue
officials. Unfortunately, trust between the government and the business stands
eroded, the senior Congress leader said. Singh noted that no change is
permanent and the country has remained alive to the need for change and has
progressed and prospered whenever we have recognised and promoted change.
Societies grow and progress when creativity is encouraged to challenge the
status quo, he said.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
TRUMP'S TRADE WAR TO COST
US ECONOMY $7.8 BILLION IN 2018: STUDY
President Donald Trump's trade battles cost the U.S. economy
$7.8 billion in lost gross domestic product in 2018, a study by a team of
economists at leading American universities published this week showed. Authors
of the paper said they analysed the short-run impact of Trump's actions and
found that imports from targeted countries declined 31.5 percent while targeted
U.S. exports fell by 11 percent. They also found that annual consumer and
producer losses from higher costs of imports totalled $68.8 billion. After
accounting for higher tariff revenue and gains to domestic producers from
higher prices, the aggregate welfare loss was $7.8 billion, or 0.04 percent of
GDP, the researchers said. Having dubbed himself the tariff man, Trump pledged
on both the campaign trail and as president to reduce the trade deficit by
shutting out unfairly traded imports and renegotiating free trade agreements.
Trump has pursued a protectionist trade agenda to shield U.S. manufacturing.
Washington and Beijing have been locked in a tit-for-tat tariff battle for
months as imposing unilateral tariffs to combat, and Trump has imposed tariffs
that have roiled the European Union and other major trading partners.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
SIMPLER GST TURNS OUT TO
BE BAD BUSINESS FOR INDIA'S TAX CONSULTANTS
For a newly minted partner in one of the Big Four professional
services firms, becoming a stay-at-home dad had never crossed his mind. That,
until last month. He had joined the company as a partner in 2016, with a 30%
pay hike, from a rival firm. With an eight-figure salary, a chauffeur-driven,
high-end German car and a penthouse in a tony Bengaluru neighbourhood, it
looked like a perfect job. He is now on gardening leave - a six-month
cooling-off period that a partner must observe after leaving a job. Another
executive from a Big Four firm in Mumbai has found a liking for Marathi plays,
as he is also on gardening leave and has lot of free time. I never knew plays
could be so much fun, he said. Suddenly several partners and senior directors
at top consultancy firms, including at the Big Four of Deloitte,
PricewaterhouseCoopers, EY and KPMG, are discovering different facets of life,
and it's not the case of self-actualisation or even burnout. With the dust
around goods and services tax settling and their clients getting the hang of
the tax framework and handling the issues internally, these consultancy firms are
witnessing slowing down or plateauing of revenue from a practice that has been
a major driver of business and employment growth in recent years. At least 20
partners and as many as 50 directors in top firms have either quit or will
leave in the coming months, as they are
unable to take the pressure on generating revenue, industry
insiders said. A KPMG spokesperson said while the indirect tax revenue in the
industry appeared to have plateaued, the practice for the firm was growing
strongly. A PwC spokesperson said the company was building data analytics
capability around GST to provide integrated solutions and that indirect-tax
practice remained an important growth engine for it. EY and Deloitte did not
respond to request for comment. Insiders point out that between 2015 and 2018,
revenue for large professional services firms from GST-related services grew at
50% annually. This has driven job opportunities, salaries and promotions for
professionals in their indirect-tax verticals. But now, the growth is estimated
at about 10% on an average. The total revenue from GST-related services is
estimated at Rs 1,000 crore for the top 10 firms, including six multinationals
- the Big Four, BDO and Grant Thornton. The top six had hired close to 3,500
people, including almost 100 partners, to handle GST services that bring them
around Rs 850 crore a year. Utilisation, or the amount of time a professional
spends doing billable work, has reduced to 60% or less now from as high as 95%
around the time of GST rollout in July 2017, said insiders. It's the case with
every market in the world; there are mainly three stages of revenue growth
after a new tax framework is introduced. First the phenomenal growth stage,
then the plateau and then the gradual decline, said the tax head at one of the
Big Four firms. Now what we are left with is the compliance work in GST. The
days of 40% and 50% jump in revenue are gone. We had increased the team size
due to the sudden growth, now some of the partners will have to go, the India
head at one of the multinational firms told.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
WOMEN CLIMBING UP THE
LADDER IN HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY WITH HIGH EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
Women and their professional careers have been extensively
discussed all across the globe Fortunately, the intention of these discussions
is to identify the current gender gap across levels and how everyone at an
organization can come together to reduce the gap. For starters, it is important
to accept that there has been a positive change and organizations now value a
woman’s presence in leadership. Women in leadership have showcased that their
influence has led to greater motivation and better results along with promoting
work-family balance. As per a survey by The Peterson Institute for
International Economics of 21,980 firms from 91 countries having women at the
C-Suite level significantly increases net margins. Grant Thornton’s report on
Women in Business revealed that globally, the percentage of businesses with at
least one woman in senior management has seen a significant rise from 66% to
75%. One such industry that was previously male dominated and now sees a good
mix of both genders is Hospitality thanks to efforts undertaken by
organizations. According to figures from the World Travel and Tourism Council,
by the year 2019 there would be 275 million jobs in the hospitality sector and
it is predicted that it may be predominantly populated by women. In leadership
roles, women are bringing about positive changes in the hospitality landscape –
encouraging more inclusive and diverse working culture, attracting more women
talent, understanding the sensitivities when working with women, bringing about
a work life balance. With a naturally high emotional intelligence, women anticipate
guests’ needs better which is extremely important in the field of customer
service and experience. They bring together different teams and manage varied
personalities within the teams with their maternal instincts and encourage them
to work towards a common goal while supporting each other. There are also
several challenges that women in the hospitality industry face. The business
requires them to be working 24×7 and 365 days a year. That requires a lot of
dedication and at times compromising on your family time. The industry and
women leaders specifically have helped bring about a change by being more
supportive. There are flexible working hours and shifts that help a woman in
the hospitality industry create a name for herself and be independent. Moreover,
women leaders at times face issues when male colleagues show reluctance in
understanding directions and suggestions. But years of experience of several
women leaders in this industry showcases that if you have the passion, desire,
and spirit to lead, don’t take no for an answer and gradually you will see
change in perception. When you are working with people for people, it is
important to be straight forward and deal with whatever come your way. Work
smart and hard is what will take you a long way not just in the hospitality
industry but in any career that a woman chooses to pursue.
#For Source of Information copy and paste the heading in google.
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
No comments:
Post a Comment